The Incapability Of Haruhi Suzumiya
by Hejin57
Summary: A direct sequel to "The Attraction Of Haruhi Suzumiya". It's only been a week since Haruhi and Kyon finally got much closer to each other. But unknown to both of them and the rest of the SOS Brigade, something catastrophic looms overhead. R & R!
1. Chapter 1

**Well, it seems the date I originally had planned was too late for my tastes. I have released the sequel to my first successful story four days early! **

**This is here is the direct sequel to my first Suzumiya Haruhi No Yuutsu fanfic; The Attraction Of Haruhi Suzumiya. Before even READING any words below; I STRONGLY SUGGEST YOU READ THE FIRST STORY. Otherwise; you'll have very little idea of some of the things I reference in this one. Plus; the first one is probably my best story at the moment. Especially for anyone who's a Kyon/Haruhi fan; like myself. **

**For anyone not familiar with the previous work; I write in Kyon's point of view only. I feel like that's the best way to do the novel's justice. Otherwise; it seems awkward to write it in any other way. This sequel will have a more action-oriented story, along with my somewhat decent sense of humor. And expect a lot of romance. Always expect romance with me. **

**Well, that's all from me. Updates will be as frequent as possible. **

**Enjoy! **

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**_Hejin57 Presents...._ **

~~~~~_**The Incapability Of Haruhi Suzumiya**_~~~~~

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There is one day of the week I have always loved the most. It is the one where I feel like I've gotten through a hard week of school; and a pleasurable weekend awaits me. That day is Friday, of course.

Friday is an exciting day for multiple reasons. It is the day before the weekend, which is the time that I get to sleep late and not end up rudely woken up by my over-energetic sister. It also exciting because it means that I do not have to undergo my daily hike as usual, which usually always results in me being forced to converse with Taniguchi on my way to school.

In a different time, I might have also added that I wouldn't have to do anything involved with the SOS Brigade. Now that doesn't mean I absolutely love every single time that Haruhi Suzumiya forces the breadth of the club to trek the city in search of strange happenings. It just means that I don't mind it as much as I used to.

And I can only assume that's because me and Haruhi have begun to get closer than either of us could have ever imagined.

I did not mention this yet? Well, it's a tiny bit embarrassing…

Straight to the point, I've basically agreed to go out with Suzumiya-san. Which means she has essentially become the one thing I never thought she would ever become, my girlfriend. I guess this was inevitable, even though I had spent a good portion of time trying to avoid this sort of situation for as long as possible. But my life is unreasonable; and things happen without my permission. It is a fact I must try to accept.

Back to the topic of Friday, I begin to realize that I still have a normal school day to go through. And until I get to the club room, school days tend to be quite boring.

My morning routine tends to be the same as usual. I get up, and I prepare myself for the day ahead. All this while trying to avoid my little sister. It's usually best if I am able to leave the house before she can even find me awake.

My brown hair refuses to let itself be brushed as I struggle with combing it. I become annoyed; deciding I don't care about having messy hair this morning. It's not like anyone ever notices the status of my hair follicles anyway.

The walk to school is the same as usual. I carry my bag slung over my shoulder, my expression blank as I trek up the usual hill that is on my morning path to North High.

So far, so good. I don't see a sign of Taniguchi at all. And the school is not so far ahead at this point. Perhaps I can make it…

But my dreams of a Taniguchi-free morning come crashing down when I hear someone calling me from behind. The voice is clearly unmistakable.

"Yo! Kyon!" he says in his usual loud voice. I can already feel the firm hand pat down on my back. It's easy to imagine the expression Taniguchi probably has on its face. It tends to be something that alludes to me having done something ridiculous and out of the ordinary.

"Morning…" I say; my voice gravely. I've never been a morning person.

"So how's the relationship going with Suzumiya? How many times have you kissed her by now? 5? 6?" Taniguchi asks, giving me another unwanted pat on the back. I resist the urge to groan at him. I understand it's his way of being friendly; but it can really be goddamn annoying sometimes.

"Don't ask. It's not that important." I replied; sounding bothered by his question.

"Don't sound so modest, Kyon! You know you're probably enjoying every moment of Suzumiya getting all over you like a-"

"That's more than enough. Now I've got class to go to. We'll speak again later; I assume." I said; cutting off the last part of Taniguchi's sentence. The relief of school approaching gave me an escape from talking to him about Suzumiya-san. It's not that I was trying to hide the emerging relationship between us. I just didn't always have my head in the gutter like Taniguchi. I had my head there sometimes; but not all the time. And Taniguchi definitely thinks about girls in that way all the time. Though I can see why he's a failure when it comes to women.

Now if there's anyone I actually look forward to talking to in the morning, it's Haruhi. I manage to walk in to see her sitting in her usual chair; which is located right behind mine. She seems to be in her usual daydream state before I arrive, as her amber eyes are absent-mindedly staring out of the window beside her. I've noticed that she's neglected in constantly change her hairstyle these past few days. She used to have a different one daily; and different colored hair ribbons for each day of the week.

"Yo." I say to Suzumiya-san, as I take my seat in front of her, pivoting around to face her. My greeting breaks her out of her trance immediately. I never had this kind of effect on her before. It's nice to have any effect on her at all, actually.

"Morning, Kyon." She replies; her amber gaze now completely focused on me. It's a bit awkward; to say the least, but I think I'll get used to it. I'm at least glad that she's got that usual look on her face. The one that comes before she's ready to announce the SOS Brigade's next crazy venture.

"You got bored of changing your hair for the aliens?" I comment, pointing out the fact Haruhi's hair has remained mostly the same for a few weeks in fact. She ended up changing it much less after meeting me; but now she hasn't been really changing her hair style at all.

"I figured it was beginning to get useless. Aliens would probably react to other things besides a person's hair. Once I start reading that book you bought me; I'll be able to find out what really makes them tick!" Haruhi said to me, exclaiming the last part.

She didn't even read that book I bought her yet? The one she was looking everywhere for? I sighed. I could only expect no less from Suzumiya-san.

"I'm still surprised you haven't treated me like an actual boyfriend yet. I only assume that's what people who are going out do. They actually show affection to one another." I said; pretending to look nervous as I scratched the back of my head. I was actually confused about this fact. I had been anticipating Suzumiya-san to simply start grabbing me and kissing me whenever she pleased. Perhaps I didn't have to necessarily fear that.

"And why would I do that? If I need you for something; I'll just order you to do it! I'm still your Brigade Chief; which means my word is law. And if you don't listen to me; they'll be a penalty you'll have to pay!" Haruhi responded; staring up at me with her eyes like an energetic little kid.

The mention of ordering me to do things was not much of a change to the norm. I always expected to be receiving orders from Suzumiya-san; but now she was going to order me around as her personal boyfriend? She hasn't even really acknowledged that fact yet either. It's just assumed we've gotten that close. At least she assumes it.

What am I saying? I should expect this from Haruhi. She's always been one to dominate everyone around her. Actually; I'm going to get off that topic. The words "dominate" and "Haruhi" don't mix too well when my random thoughts began to surge frightening images through my head. I'm not even going to begin with that kind of stuff, it all scares me half to death.

"So I have to just listen to you night and day? Don't I have any free will in this relationship? If you would even call it that…" I ask her in a slightly disappointed tone.

Haruhi stares back at me with those same amber eyes. She cracks her famous expression, her face coming right up to mine.

"If I'm in a good mood; then maybe you can have a say. Otherwise; you're taking orders from me as usual, Kyon!"

I sigh. Being ordered around by Suzumiya-san as usual shouldn't really surprise me.

The rest of the school day went by fairly quickly, to say the least. I don't know if I had some sort of unbridled excitement brewing inside me because of Haruhi's mood. Perhaps she had something planned for us after school today. It was a Friday, and tomorrow was a Saturday. This also brings up the question of when I'm going to actually have to start taking Suzumiya-san on dates. Itsuki said she has some sense of rationality; so I can only assume that she would want to go to the movies or something like most normal girls.

Although something inside me says that Haruhi probably would rather watch a Godzilla film, a science-fiction movie, or a horror movie instead of the normal gushy romance movies that most teenagers my age have taken their dates on. I guess I might be able to survive through a Godzilla movie. Kaiju aren't all that bad, I guess…

My walk to the SOS Brigade club room begins again; with my bag slung over my shoulder as usual. I find myself quietly whistling as I head towards my destination. I guess I'm in a relatively good mood today. Nothing has gone wrong yet. But that still leaves plenty of time for something to in fact go wrong.

Entering the club room, I am greeted by familiar faces as usual. And as always; every face is more extra-ordinary than meets the eye.

Yuki Nagato was the first to notice me. The large orbs that were here eyes looked at me slightly behind her light-colored hair. It was like she was studying me from a distance for a few seconds, before she found interest in the book she was reading again. I never question Yuki's demeanor anymore. She's an alien who enjoys reading more than anything else. It's better than her staring at you with the same expression all day, at least.

Itsuki Koizumi gave me his usual smile when I entered. He was always one to greet me quickly. Although he could be quite annoying from time to time, I'll admit he really wasn't so bad when it came down to it.

"Kyon." He said to me, his eyes watching me as I found myself a seat to sit in.

"Itsuki." I replied, fixing my hair for a moment. I guess I did care about the way it looked somewhat.

"I've made tea again." A soft, sweet voice said from behind the both of us. Of course, it was unmistakably Mikuru-chan; the club mascot and by far the nicest girl I have ever met. And that's not something I ever intend to say in front of Haruhi, mind you. I like my face where it currently is.

I smiled back at Mikuru as she served both me and Itsuki her fantastically brewed tea. I almost feel sorry for her, as she's seems to have the role of wearing the same maid outfit from day to day, and brewing tea for us on a daily basis. And I've yet to stop Haruhi from forcibly changing Mikuru-chan into the various outfits she finds for her to wear.

On the topic of God, I spotted Suzumiya-san on the club room computer, looking bored as she stared at the screen with disinterest. I can only assume that she hadn't thought of anything for us to do yet. These uneventful days for the Brigade aren't uncommon. It's just Haruhi doesn't like them.

As I begin to sip my tea, I hear Haruhi bolt upwards from her chair. I turn to see the expression on her face. It is unmistakably the same one she puts on when her next outlandish and ridiculous idea is about to announced. I prepare myself for her loud voice to begin speaking.

"I've got it!" she announces to us; her voice full of energy. The glint in her eyes could have probably blinded you at this point.

"What is it, Suzumiya-san?" Mikuru asks innocently; her voice shy and quiet.

"Our next course of action! I know exactly what we're going to do next!" Haruhi tells us; her hands at her hips. I can't help but wonder what she has planned for us now. I already assume that whatever it is, it's going to be taking up the duration of tomorrow.

This means I'll probably be waking up early this Saturday. Damn.

"So what is it then?" I ask; only somewhat curious about what Suzumiya-san is planning to say.

"We're going to be looking for this!" Haruhi says, before literally turning the computer screen around so we can all see it. She obviously has no knowledge of what it means to handle with care, because I swear I heard what sounded like something breaking. Well; I'm guessing if something does break; Haruhi will just force the members of the Computer Research Society next door to fix it. She really knows her way around black mailing.

The image on the computer screen is something I've never seen before. It's a large, drawn image of what looks like some sort of prehistoric dinosaur. It's got a pair of large wings, and a head shaped like that of some giant heron or crane. I really have no idea what it is at all.

"What's that?" Mikuru asks, prompting Suzumiya-san to point one of her fingers directly at the image.

"It's the Kongamato! It's one of those creatures that scientists all over the world have yet to find! And we're going to find it and capture it!" Haruhi says; in a way that makes her newfound goals sound like a big game.

Many questions go into my head at her exclamation. I should expect something like this, but even this seems a little bit much. Now we're going to look for creatures that don't exist? And even then, Haruhi might just make them real. The mere thoughts scare me. I can already imagine this thing becoming real, grabbing me first and pulling me into the sky as I watch the ground below me go into the distance.

Quite a scary thought. I should just forget it.

"You've got to be joking. How are we going to capture it in the first place?" I ask Haruhi; obviously disbelieving what she wants to now do. But I guess I shouldn't ask. I should have remembered that Haruhi is always dead serious.

Where the hell does she find out about all these weird monsters anyway? Is that what she does on the club room computer all the time? Search for obscure things such as that?

"This isn't a joke, Kyon! I've got it all planned out! Tomorrow, we go on a monster hunt!" she replies; sounding triumphant. Mikuru already looks scared at Haruhi's exclamation, and I can only imagine that anything involving monsters would probably scare her like that. I personally don't know what to think. Half of me just wants Haruhi to just act normal; but the other half enjoys her usual personality.

But that fact she hasn't really acknowledged the topic of "us" yet, is a little intriguing, if not worrying.

I can already see the expression on Koizumi's face telling me that we'll have things to discuss tomorrow. I assume now that he'll be giving out an explanation while we're out in the wilderness searching for this "Kongamato". I wouldn't be surprised if Haruhi just decides to turn into an overnight campout. It sounds like one of those bizarre adventures that happen only in stories. The kind of stories I stopped reading awhile ago.

I sigh; but I guess I'm fine with all of this as usual. Tomorrow is another day with Haruhi as usual. I can only help but wonder if we're going to find any trace of this monster at all. And if we do; I sincerely hope that I'm not the one who gets dragged away to be fed to its young.

Let's hope not. Now that I think I'm Suzumiya-san's boyfriend, I would expect she wouldn't want something like that to happen. Unless I did something to piss her off. I'll certainly remember not to do that. Tomorrow is going to be another crazy day. At least my life isn't as boring as it used to be.

That's one plus. Even though it's only a minor one.


	2. Chapter 2

**Well; I got some fast updates this time around! Here's the next chapter, my willing readers! ****Enjoy. :)**

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I'm only a partial fan of the sea and the things that come along with it. When it comes to being in a ferry and being over water instead of inside it; then being around the ocean isn't actually so bad.

Why am I on a ferry, you ask?

Some time ago; Itsuki Koizumi had arranged for the entire SOS Brigade to come and stay at his uncle's island villa some time ago. Keiichi-san was his name; I think. It was there where we had all become abandoned in what Itskui called a "closed circle'; mostly because of a sudden storm that erupted around the island's perimeter. It wasn't long till Keiichi-san's mysterious "murder" occurred shortly after. Haruhi, being a self-titled super sleuth, deduced the murder as being a set-up by Koizumi and his colleagues. She was right; for once. She left the island free of boredom; just as Itsuki had planned.

There is only one reason I am on another ferry again. Haruhi Suzumiya had announced to us yesterday that we were going to be part of a monster hunt. We were on our way to some distant island; and she planned on searching out and capturing some elusive creature called the Kongamato. Whatever it was; it sounded like some sort of fictional kaiju. And all top of all of that; it had suddenly become an overnight trip. We had all brought sleeping bags, clothes and tents. It was basically an SOS Brigade camping trip; just on some deserted island that we probably weren't even supposed to be on.

And I can only assume that this "Kongamato" was one thing; and one thing only. Fictional. Which means it doesn't exist now; in the past; or ever.

But Suzumiya-san doesn't understand that at all. We still are on our way to this island. And her mind is still probably wrapping around thoughts of capturing this creature.

The sea breeze easily catches my hair as I absent-mindedly watch the water pass by below. I had got up relatively early to get to this stupid ferry; and Suzumiya-san took no time scolding me for being late; even though it was literally only by a few seconds.

"You look deep in thought." A voice says next to me; prompting me to turn. It is none other than Itsuki Koizumi. His smile and wavy brown hair are nothing to new to me. I can already tell he's got things on his mind that he will surely inform me of.

"Somewhat. Just can't wait for the monster hunt." I replied sarcastically; turning my attention back to the passing waves below. This ferry was moving relatively slow from my point of view; but the water still seemed like the most interesting thing to keep one's attention right now. I wasn't so much in the mood to lose card games again and be forced to buy drinks for everyone like the last time we'd all taken a trip like this.

"Ah, the topic of cryptids. That's always an interesting subject." Koizumi said; leaning on one of the support bars lined across the ferry. He still wore that same smiling expression; but I didn't become agitated with it as usual.

"You do realize that if Suzumiya-san decides she truly wants to find this "Kongamato"; then we will most certainly find it." Koizumi commented. I didn't even turn to face him as I spoke.

"And I'm just going to hope it doesn't eat me. I don't think Haruhi wants me eaten. Not yet, at least."

"Yes, I don't think so either. You two seem to have finally connected; haven't you? I always knew it was going to happen sometime soon." Itsuki commented; the sea breeze slightly catching one of his locks of hair for a moment. He leaned back; as if observing the sky.

And who told him of what was going on between myself and Suzumiya-san? In fact; who told anyone? I never mention this stuff; and somehow everyone knows it like it's been posted on the internet! My personal life is like an open book at this point!

"Well; you could say that. On the other ha-"I tried to say, before a familiar presence came beside me faster than I could react.

If there was a way to effectively describe it; it would be as such. It was like having someone on stimulants energetically jump right next to you; and then deciding to suddenly get as close as they want without asking.

And that was the case with Haruhi. One moment; I was watching the sea; minding my own business. The next; she had one hand locked around mine; leaning right on my shoulder like I was some sort of comfortable resting place.

It was awkward to say the least. I turned to Koizumi; who gave me the same smile he always gave me. I looked back at Haruhi; almost confused. It was strange to note the way she decided to show her affection. It seemed static and random; like the roll of a dice.

A random rolling of dice. That sounded exactly like how Suzumiya-san would act about almost anything.

"Aren't you excited about all this, Kyon?" she said next to me; anticipation glimmering in her amber eyes. I could feel her squeeze my hand even tighter. It almost felt like she was beginning to crush the bones inside.

God, her grip was strong.

"You mean about the whole monster thing? Can't you tell I've been trying to hide how excited I am about all this?" I said to Haruhi; my voice brimming with sarcasm. I had a feeling she probably wouldn't get it.

"Well don't get too excited! You should remember this isn't a game. The Kongamato is a dangerous and wild creature. If you're not on your toes; it'll grab you and swallow you whole before you can even turn and run!" Haruhi exclaimed at me; her face coming close to mine as she seemed to be oblivious to my sarcasm. This was probably her way of trying to scare me or at least warn me of the impending danger ahead. She sounded like the story teller at a campfire; trying her best to frighten everyone with the last part of whatever scary story she was telling.

"I'll try to survive." I replied to her; my voice nearly monotone at this point. Haruhi looked at me again; a glare in her eyes. She looked like she was about to say something; until the sight of Mikuru and Yuki caught her attention. The two of them had been in the interior portion of the ferry the entire time. I didn't know why Mikuru had stayed behind; but I could easily see Yuki's excuse as she and Asahina-san came towards us. Her eyes were glued to the novel in her hand. I can expect that was more interesting to her than anything else.

"Yuki! I said no books! We're here to go monster hunting!" Haruhi said to the usually silent girl. It took Yuki a few moments to realize she was being talked to, and I watched her look at Haruhi with indifference.

"How come you brought all those weird conspiracy books about aliens and monsters then?" I asked Haruhi; obviously in an attempt to undermine her. An attempt that I knew was probably doomed to fail.

"I'm the Brigade Chief; so I'm exempt! And for your information Kyon; they're research books that we need to find the Kongamato! Otherwise this will all be just a fruitless search. We're not here to have fun and fool around! We're here as the SOS Brigade; to find and capture that mysterious creature!" Haruhi replied in her usual tone; pointing at me with the same accusing finger.

Of course all those books of hers are for research! And Koizumi isn't an esper. Give me a break. I seriously doubt she really even reads them in the first place. For I know; she doesn't even have them with her in the first place!

"Now give me the book, Yuki. Rules are rules."

Yuki Nagato didn't make an attempt to change the look on her face as she slowly handed the book she was reading to Suzumiya-san. Even I didn't expect her to react so quickly. I always imagined Mikuru-chan being the one to listen to Haruhi that easily. But fortunately for her; she had found the sea passing by below to be something to occupy her attention for the moment. Itsuki was more of an observer to all these conversations; adding his input only when needed. And whenever he did add his input, it usually involved kissing up to Suzumiya-san's authority.

It only took Haruhi a few seconds to realize that the book Yuki had been reading was one of the very same ones that she had brought with her for supposed "research" on the Kongamato. Haruhi flipped through it: a stupefied expression on her face. She handed it back to Yuki; looking a little pissed she had been blatantly out of order with her command. Yuki took no real notice to all this; and she simply continued with reading the book after Suzumiya-san handed it back to her.

"I see the island is not so far away." Itsuki commented; causing us all to turn in response. Haruhi was the first to see it in the distance, and she ran over to the edge of the ferry to get as close of a look as possible. It seemed we were probably only a few minutes away from our destination at this point.

Come to think of it; how the hell did we get on a ferry that goes to such a random island like this? No one even lives on it. Isn't it a sort of nature preserve or something? Wouldn't we be trespassing? And where did Suzumiya-san find out about this place anyway?

But these questions go unanswered, as Haruhi's loud voice shouts back at me.

"We're almost there! Kyon! Go and get all the camping stuff! It's your job to carry it all!"

I sigh. I had a feeling I was going to end up becoming the pack mule for Haruhi and everyone else. It pisses off even more that no one seems to want to offer in helping me.

Well; I'll let Mikuru-chan slide. It seems that she was actually letting out her stomach's contents instead of staring down at the passing water. She'd been seasick this entire time.

The fact I ended up being the one to lug all of our gear and such was very demeaning and not at all fun. I felt like one of those laborers that had been forced to build the great pyramids. I was being commanded by the Pharaoh to pull these massive stone blocks along in aid of building the pyramids. Except I was carrying a heavy backpack that was crammed with camping stuff; and it was Haruhi Suzumiya who was declaring that I do it.

The sand of the beach we stepped off on was surprisingly soft. In fact; the entire surrounding island seemed untouched.

Now that I decide to think about it; the circumstances of us arriving on here in the first place were quite suspicious. Koizumi had literally gotten us onto a much smaller boat that we transferred on from the ferry. In turn; that smaller boat took us directly to the island. Itsuki gave our drivers a wave as we walked onto the sandy beach.

I guessing they're all probably related to the Agency in some way. That's just a completely wild guess; of course.

"Okay. We're all going to need to set up a base camp before we go out searching for the Kongamato! We need two sentries to keep watch as the rest of us set up camp! Any volunteers?" Suzumiya-san asked to all of us; sounding serious.

I was being asked to do a useless task instead of work? I couldn't let a chance like this pass by!

"You're helping me set up, Kyon! I'm not going to let you go and play around with Mikuru-chan while I'm not looking!" Haruhi barked at me; before I could even say a word about how much I'd rather diligently keep watch then set up our "base camp".

Wow. Only a week into our "relationship"; and Haruhi already thinks I'm going to be unfaithful. She would be surprised how much faith I have in her. More than she can even imagine.

"I'll keep watch…" Mikuru said softly. Haruhi nodded at her; before giving a silent order for Koizumi to follow. They walked about thirty or so feet away from us; finally stopping at the edge of where the large beach met with the trees in the distance. It seemed that the wilderness of this island was probably larger than we could cover in one day; since we'd have to be leaving tomorrow. I can only assume that once we've set up our things; Haruhi will lead us all on a monster trek.

The setting up of camp mostly consisted of Haruhi yelling at me to do the menial labor that came with putting up tents. I was the one stuck figuring out how to set up the two tents we had brought with us; along with being the one to unpack absolutely everything we had decided to bring. This certainly wasn't my idea of an ideal Saturday.

"You're doing it all wrong, Kyon!" Haruhi scolded me; mostly because I was having trouble getting the poles of the first tent to stand up straight. The sand below us wasn't necessarily the best thing to stake in anything. I was already imagining a strong wind coming up; easily blowing away our tents and everything inside of them.

"This isn't as easy as it looks." I replied; finally managing to get the pole deep enough into the sand to assure that our first tent wouldn't simply blow away in the wind. I checked my watch. It was about noon. There was still a whole day for this tent to survive for.

"Well, I've entrusted you to do it; so you better do it right!" Suzumiya-san said to me; watching like an overseer as I finished the set up of tent number 1. Yuki had been standing a few feet away from us the entire time; completely wrapped up in her book.

And not once this whole time had Haruhi assisted me; or told Yuki to come and assist me. It was a singular effort on my part.

I stood up from my kneeling position for a second; wiping off sweat from my forehead. It was quite a hot day; even though the summer clothes I had been wearing kept me from heating up too much. I observed my work for a moment, before feeling a tap on my shoulder.

"Hey Kyon!" I heard from Suzumiya-san, turning in response.

I had no time to react before Haruhi assaulted me with her lips. It was not so much an unwanted kiss; as much as it was a much unexpected one. Haruhi caught me in her embrace without even wondering if I had wanted it or not. The expression on my face was one of slight confusion as Haruhi pulled away from me. The look in her eyes seemed almost mischievous to me.

"What are you looking at? I was in the mood for that! And whenever I'm in the mood; you'd better be more prepared for it, Kyon! You're lucky you're not getting a penalty for the fact you weren't on your guard!" Haruhi said to me, her voice serious as she glared at me with a now playful expression.

I had actually enjoyed Haruhi's kiss; but I couldn't help but spark thoughts about me now having to be prepared for Suzumiya-san to kiss me whenever she pleased. She was already making it sound like some sort of game; and I would suffer consequences if I didn't give her exactly the kind of response she wanted from it.

Like I said; she's a strange girl. I can't imagine anyone else but her telling me something like this, or taking control of me whenever she felt she was "in the mood".

The construction of tent number two did not take long at all; mostly because I had figured out most of the process by setting up tent number one. Once the tent was up; I begun to unpack the various things out of the bag I had been forced to carry. And Suzumiya-san watched me the entire time.

I pulled out bags with my clothes, the food we intended to eat, and various books that Haruhi had dubbed "research material." There was a very large lined-paper notebook that said "research journal" on the front, in Suzumiya-san's handwriting. I pulled out all our sleeping bags, stopping for a moment as I found something I didn't really expect. It was an orange bikini; and it was the one I knew was unmistakably Suzumiya-san's.

"Is this to attract the Kongamato's attention? Or are we actually planning on doing something fun while we're here?" I said with a partial smile; as I turned to show Suzumiya-san that I was in my hand. She seemed to blush hotly at the sight; taking no time to roughly snatch the said clothing article from my hand and proceed to glare at me like I had wronged her.

"That's not important right now! Just finish unpacking everything else!" she commanded me; and I just obliged as usual. It wasn't like I didn't bring stuff to swim in. I had a feeling we were going to relax a little bit on this island while we stayed here; as much as Haruhi made it sound like we were going to be monster hunting the whole time.

After the unpacking process; Haruhi gathered me and Yuki as she led us both towards where Itsuki and Mikuru were "keeping watch".

Apparently; they had been talking to one another the entire time; and not keeping watch at all. It was quite obvious that Haruhi scolded Mikuru while failing to say anything to Itsuki at all.

"Mikuru-chan! I said to keep watch for the Kongamato!"

"I tried….but I didn't see it. I just got distracted talking to Koizumi-kun…" she replied; sounding scared that Suzumiya-san was already angry at her. I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor girl. I always felt bad for her in these situations. I just never did anything about it.

"It's true, Suzumiya-san. We got a little bored after a lack of activity involving your said monster." Koizumi added; seemingly in Mikuru's defense.

"Fine. But I don't want to catch you slacking off again! If you two want to have alone time; do it when we're not about to go on a monster hunt!" Haruhi said to both of them; her voice sounding overbearing as she pointed like she was announcing a guilty verdict. I could see Itsuki scratch his head nervously; and Mikuru was obviously blushing.

Haruhi is surely the one to talk. After all; she's not the one who nearly attacked me with her mouth without giving me any warning whatsoever. Of course; she'd just shoot down anything I tried to say that undermined her authority. That's the way it always was.

"Playtime's over! We're going to head into the wilderness ahead; and find that monster!" Haruhi announced to all of us; her face showing the usual expression.

The time had come where Suzumiya-san intended to lead us into the unknown; all to search for some fictional beast. The scary part was that for all we know; it could already be lurking in the trees ahead. Suzumiya-san could have already wished for the Kongamato to be real; and it could end up being the one hunting us as we were trying to look for it. I waited to see some sort of large, winged shadow to pass over us; but it never came.

These thoughts were very unnerving; to say the least. I sighed; realizing that there wasn't much of a choice now but for us to follow Suzumiya-san in her search for the Kongamato. We were about to look for a monster that wasn't supposed to exist. That all would change once Haruhi was added to the equation.

I just hope she cares enough not to let me get eaten. I still have a lot to do in my life before I plan on getting consumed by a giant pterodactyl monster. Like proposing to Suzumiya-san; for example.

Well; let's not get too far ahead. I don't know if I'm ready for that kind of insanity anytime soon.


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here's the next chapter all! Time to bring some unanswered questions and speculation to the table. Enjoy!**

**_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ **

I never imagined myself going on a monster hunt. Even with someone like Suzumiya-san.

But here I am; following her along like she's the leader of a marching band. We only arrived on this deserted island about an hour ago; and Suzumiya-san took no time in rounding us up once I had finished setting up our "base camp." We all stood in front of her; as she seemed to be planning our next course of action in her head. Sometimes I wonder what goes on underneath all that hair…

Wait a second. I think I was already inside her head recently. Never mind then.

"Alright SOS Brigade; I have a plan!"

Of course you do. Let's hope it's not doomed to miserably fail.

"We're splitting ourselves up to cover more ground. Koizumi-kun and Mikuru-chan; you'll be Group Beta. Me, Kyon and Yuki are going to be Group Alpha. Itsuki, Mikuru-chan; you two are going to explore the west side of the island. The rest of Group Alpha and I are going to cover the east side. If we're lucky; we'll be able to find the Kongamato's nesting place before nightfall!" Haruhi said to us, in a voice that made it sound like she had devised a perfect and foolproof plan.

I couldn't help but challenge her authority just a little bit. This was already sounding like disaster in the making.

"I don't mean to ruin the already flawless plan you've concocted, Haruhi; but what are we supposed to do if we do find this Kongamato? Unless you already have that part covered."

Haruhi turned to me as if I had asked a stupid question. I can only imagine that the notion of "I'm right and Kyon's wrong" was running through her head faster than a roadrunner on steroids. Her eyes dilated as she spoke to me; her voice commanding.

"We're going to capture it; is what we're going to do!"

I watched Suzumiya-san push past me; determination painted on her face. She stopped in front of the bag of things I had been forced to carry it in; picking it up and literally letting the rest of its contents fall all over the ground. There was quite a lot more inside that bag than I had previously thought. No wonder it was so heavy.

Haruhi's eyes scanned the pile of things strewn in front of her; until a smile lit up on her face as she found exactly what she was looking for. She picked up the said objects; displaying them for all of us to see.

"I think these will serve their purpose. We'll catch that monster in no time. And when we do; we'll get so much media attention that the SOS Brigade will become an international phenomenon!"

After hearing Suzumiya-san's plans for the expansion of the Brigade's influence; I couldn't help but be speechless at the objects she was holding. Haruhi had six scrawny wooden nets in her arms. They looked more suitable for catching butterflies than catching a giant pterodactyl. It was obvious that Suzumiya-san has no idea what she's doing at all. For all we know; she could get us killed with something like this. Or worse; she could get herself killed.

Even the though it's a dangerous thought; I could not always help but wonder what the world might be like without God. Is it even possible for any of us to exist without the influence that Suzumiya-san provides? According to Itsuki; the universe as we know it might have only began three years ago, so it could be very likely that without Haruhi's god-like power; we wouldn't exist at all.

Eh, it's just a stray thought. There's no possibility of that kind of thing ever happening.

Not now; not ever.

But now I was looking at Haruhi again. And the six nets she plans on providing to us so we can capture this Kongamato.

I sighed. This was not going to be fun at all.

I can only expect that Suzumiya-san had split us up for a reason. She had probably wanted me with her the entire time. But can I blame her? We are "together" now. Unless it's all in my head; and we didn't kiss all those times.

This island certainly had a thick forest; to say the least. Suzumiya-san had each given us one of her "monster-hunting" nets, along with walkie-talkies; and it was then that we had split up into our two groups. We were now in the process of searching for this Kongamato. If it even existed on this island in the first place.

The color green surrounded me as I followed Haruhi deeper into the island. This place was certainly warm; and I could have even said it had a strange tropical feel to it. As we continued to walk; I kept getting this weird feeling that we were descending into some sort of lost world.

This was scary; to say the least. I've read Arthur Conan Doyle's book. My mind was already imagining carnivorous dinosaurs leaping at us from the foliage; before dragging each of us away to our dooms.

I had to keep my mind of the subject. I had to do something to stop myself from becoming this nervous. So; I pulled out a book from my pocket. It was one I had procured from Haruhi's collection earlier in the day. It contained information about this Kongamato. And it could keep me occupied.

Haruhi was still leading us; having not said a single word since we began walking. I was surprised. I expected her mouth to be going constantly by now. But she remained quiet this whole time. Yuki had been following us as well; except her eyes had been glued to a book the entire time. She had managed to perfectly keep up with us; all while still being completely enamored with her book.

I started flipping through the pages of the book in my hand. There was information that sounded boring; explaining sightings of the Kongamato dating back to the early 1900's. But as I skimmed; I caught something that immediately made my eyes dilate. I looked up from the book; stopping in mid-walk.

"Wait a second. They saw this thing in Africa? Why the hell are we looking for it if it's on another continent?" I asked, obviously very confused. If I was correct; we were on a wild goose chase; and Suzumiya-san had been fully aware of it the entire time. Haruhi stopped at my exclamation; turning to face me. The look in her eyes was just the same as before.

"And so what? It could still be here. We won't know unless we find out."

"This says the sightings were in Congo. And that's if the thing exists at all. What makes you think we're going to find it in some deserted island off the coast of Japan?" I ask; using the book as my undeniable source of truth. Haruhi still seems unconvinced; putting her hands on her hips as she simply glares at me.

"Listen, Kyon. We're going to find the Kongamato. I'm sure of it."

The words that came out of Suzumiya-san's mouth sparked nothing but worry in my mind. Not only were we going out ill-prepared; but we were going out on a limb in the first place. I didn't expect us to be completely off track in our search for this creature. I had managed to give Haruhi a little more credit than she actually deserved.

I sighed. There was nothing to do in this situation except follow along as always.

"Fine." I replied; satisfying Haruhi as she turned around and led our way again. We'd been on a makeshift path the entire time; and I myself was surprised that we weren't cutting away foliage that was in our way. Suzumiya-san just seemed content with leading us like we were her obedient soldiers. It was amazing to note how Yuki had been able to perfectly follow us this entire time; and not once did I see her eyes leave the novel she was reading. As she was an alien; I should have guessed her capable of such things.

I held the wooden net in my hand; walking a little faster so I could be right next to Haruhi. She didn't notice me at first; her eyes having been occupied more with her surroundings. She really wants to find this Kongamato.

And knowing that Suzumiya-san could easily wish it to be true; I might be expecting a giant pterodactyl to fly over us anytime soon.

"Even if we end up empty-handed, Kyon; we're still not here to fool around. This is a club activity that requires diligence and patience." Haruhi said next to me; her face determined to catch any sight of this mythical beast we were currently searching for.

It's interesting to note that while Haruhi has much diligence; she lacks patience. She lacks a lot of patience; in fact.

Truthfully, I had never mentioned much about fooling around; but it seems that Haruhi has to always find a reason to say something to me. She's always got to find something that I'm doing wrong; or that I'm about to do wrong. To anyone else; it would not only be annoying; but it would certainly make the said person keep their distance from Suzumiya-san.

"Lighten up. It's not like we can't have a tiny ounce of a good time while we're here." I replied; my hand beginning to subtly wrap around Haruhi's.

This sudden display of affection seemed to almost catch her by surprise. I didn't see her blush; but I watched as her eyes scanned what I was doing; as if it was against the law. She almost looked like she was about to pull away; until I felt her own hand relax in mine. Only a few weeks ago; I don't think I would have the nerve to such things as holding Haruhi's hand. I had always expected physical harm to myself from doing things like that.

And so; Suzumiya-san and I continued to go forward into this wilderness, with Yuki behind us. The silent alien seemed to take no notice to the surrounding situation at all; as she was pre-occupied enough with the book she was currently reading.

I merely enjoyed Haruhi's company during this time. There was no noise except the sounds of birds every now and then; so this walk seemed quite serene and calm. I could easily tell that although Suzumiya-san was making it look like she was still alert; she had also begun to relax herself. The atmosphere around us was quite peaceful; to say the least.

Until something had to ruin it. And that something was the same something that Suzumiya-san had wanted to find this entire time.

It was a loud noise; and it emanated ahead. If I put my finger on what it might have sounded like; I would have said that someone decided to stick their head in a foghorn and scream as loud as they possibly could. It wasn't ear-splitting; but it still ended up being more like a bleating noise.

Suzumiya-san's calm and indifferent face went up with inexhaustible energy at the sound. She let go of my hand instantly; already running into a full sprint towards the source; which she assumed to be behind a patch of verdant ferns ahead.

"It's the Kongamato!" Haruhi screamed in joy; her shoes kicking up dirt and debris as she literally sprinted ahead of me. I couldn't help but follow her; my own legs moving me as I struggled to keep up.

"Wait up! I can't run that fast!"

My pleas were in vain; as Haruhi had stopped listening to me at this point. I watched her go into the ferns; and I could already hear her begin to screech loudly. If she hadn't made it sound so girlish; I would have said she could have been in grave danger.

Ignoring the fact we were leaving Yuki behind; I followed; pushing the various ferns past my face as I intended to find Haruhi.

"I SAW IT!!!" Suzumiya-san exclaimed in my face; nearly giving me a heart attack. The fact that I had been still huffing for air from the sprint; along with some amount of fear, caused me to go falling backwards. At the same token: Suzumiya-san attempted to stop me from falling; but ended up toppling forward herself.

The result was exactly as I had expected. Suzumiya-san had landed right on top of me; and I knew that we were both blushing just as madly as the other by the fact our faces were just as close as our bodies were. I was waiting for the blood to just burst out of my nose; mostly because this exact situation could have been an actual scene from whatever teenage fantasies might have recently plagued my dreams. Haruhi didn't seem to have the urge to get up just yet; as she was in the process of staring at my eyes. Everything was suddenly beginning to feel warm…

It wasn't so bad. I kind of liked this closeness. But in a forest on some uninhabited island; it seemed quite strange and out of place.

"This is kind of awkward." I said; breaking the silence between us. Haruhi blinked; her eyes shimmering as if she didn't understand my statement. The dirt beneath me suddenly felt very comfortable; and I found my own eyes unable to avert themselves from the details of Suzumiya-san's face. The warm blush on my cheeks must have been very obvious at this point.

"I don't see a problem. Unless you're not in a comfortable position on the ground there, Kyon. I can always just move a bit."

The words that emanated from Haruhi's mouth could be taken several ways; but I assume most could guess how they were taken most of the time. This situation was one that I had not expected; and the fact that Suzumiya-san seemed to be enjoying the awkwardness of it all wasn't helping the embarrassment I was undergoing.

A strange girl has strange ways of dealing with things like this. Suzumiya-san was no exception to this rule.

I think I'd rather be searching for the Kongamato right now. This was almost too intense for my tastes.

But my thoughts were suddenly interrupted; by a robotic-sounding, monotone voice nearby.

"I am confused. Is this some sort of mating ritual in the making?"

As a human interface; Yuki Nagato was always frank about the things she said, whenever she said them. It didn't take long before I felt Suzumiya-san suddenly get up off me; dusting herself off as she did so. I could see her own face was red at Yuki's exclamation.

I had no words to say about why Haruhi had been on top of me seconds ago; and I just gave Yuki an equally speechless look as I stood up from the ground as well. With this situation occurring; I could not also help but wonder what Koizumi and Mikuru were doing this very moment, if they were actually doing any searching at all.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were both……

Never mind. Itsuki wouldn't dare take advantage of Mikuru-chan if he knows what's good for him…

Another sound coming from ahead sparked Suzumiya-san's interest. It sounded like another bleat as before. I was waiting for her to run; until something caught my eye that I almost couldn't believe.

From the trees ahead; I watched as something large dove upwards; one of its wings exposed enough out of the many plants ahead. The large wing was a orange dirt color; and it looked nothing like the wing of any bird I had ever seen. My eyes had probably dilated to their max; and I had no time to react as I watched Haruhi suddenly go into hot pursuit of the thing we had just caught a glimpse of.

Normally: I must have yelled at Suzumiya-san to stop; but I realized this was a useless attempt, as she wouldn't listen to any of my warnings. So, I followed her; my breath already exhausted enough from our previous sprint. Yuki seemed to just watch us as we ran; and I assumed that she would catch up in her own time.

When I finally found Haruhi behind a clump of foliage that blocked my view; I saw her.

But I didn't expect seeing her like this.

Suzumiya-san was sitting on the ground; blankly staring ahead as if in disbelief. I looked to where she was staring; waiting to see the massive Kongamato that was ready to swallow us all us. I had seen what looked like a wing; and as much as I was usually a disbeliever of such things; that one gargantuan wing had surely convinced me.

But it was not there. Instead; there was nothing but a tall, white crane in front of us. It stood in a shallow pond; washing its feathers off. The crane turned to look at us; gazing in our direction as if we were curious objects. Haruhi couldn't stop staring at it; and I was confused myself; waving my hands in front of her eyes when I approached her.

There was no sign of what might have been the Kongamato at all. No sounds nearby; and I didn't even see anything that might signify that such a large creature had passed through here.

But I'm not crazy. I had just seen a titanic wing before! What the hell was going on here?

Perhaps it was some sort of ambush. In a few seconds; I could expect something to grab hold of my head; before tearing it off without second thought. But such a creature did not attempt to ambush me in the next seconds; so I brushed off the said notion.

"I saw it. I know I saw it." Haruhi said to me in a bland voice. She looked like a child who had received a failing grade on a spelling test; her perfect face now wrought with confusion and anguish.

"Maybe it was just that crane…" I replied; pointing at the said bird. I was lying to her and myself at this point. The wing we had both seen looked nothing like what that white crane had attached to its body. There was definitely something we had missed. But something inside my mind was preventing me from exclaiming that fact.

"BUT I SAW IT! IT WAS THERE!" Suzumiya-san suddenly shouted in anger; standing up; her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Her expression was nothing short of furious and distraught. I could only imagine her mood being so high before; and now all hopes of finding this creature had come crashing down. And with her hopes; her once-good mood had become sour.

Though it had no bearing on the current situation; I couldn't help but think that all of this seemed oddly familiar to what those conspiracy theorists say about seeing things that they found out to be false. Such as an UFO or something similar. And whether or not they actually have credibility; they always attempt to make it sound like some sort of big government cover-up.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Haruhi. In an attempt to possibly make her feel better and take her mind away from her loss, I moved closer; my mind focused on wrapping her in an embrace and holding her tight.

But she roughly and angrily pushed me away before I could get do so. Her mind was probably in more rage than I could even imagine. There was certainly a part of me that felt this had been doomed to occur; but another part of me that couldn't help but become angry about Haruhi's failure. A part of me that had wanted her wish fulfilled.

But it seemed that even as the God she was; she still wasn't able to fulfill her own wish of even getting a full glimpse of the Kongamato.

I could already see that Suzumiya-san was struggling to keep tears in.

The crane proceeded to look back at her; and unless I'm crazy; it seemed like it was mocking her. It moved in such a way that it looked like it was trying to convey some sort of expression. Before I could move to do anything; the bird flew off; causing a little water to splash from the pond it had been residing in before it disappeared in the distance.

I had no words for Suzumiya-san. She still looked angry; and my assumptions were clarified when I watched her punch a nearby tree with her fist. I already guessed that it wouldn't take long for her to call back Mikuru and Itsuki. I also had a feeling she might decide to just cut this trip short; as she had already failed in finding the Kongamato.

I turned; only to see that Yuki had been watching the exact spot where the white crane had been this entire time. It almost looked like she had been analyzing the said creature. I felt like saying something; but no words came out of my mouth. There wasn't much I could really say at this point.

And so; I remained silent. I left Haruhi to take out her rage on a nearby tree; which she proceeded to kick and punch with every fiber of her being. She tore off branches in her utter rage; even going so far to bite one off with her teeth. The sight might have been funny a few months ago; but it was almost depressing now.

So I didn't watch. My mind was still wondering where that massive wing had come from, and if it really belonged to the said Kongamato. We had both seen it; and I know I wasn't insane for realizing it had been there. But where had it gone? This all sounded like a conspiracy to me.

I sighed. I guess strange things just come to Haruhi like moths to a flame. And I'm not surprised at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, I just love writing these stories. So I couldn't help but write the next chapter for you all! Enjoy!**

**_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ **

It was very frightening to watch how much rage Haruhi could unleash on a single tree.

In all my days of knowing Suzumiya-san; I never once imagined how much ferocity she could dish out. Well; that's a lie. I imagined multiple times. The only difference was the kind of "ferocity" I was thinking of.

And let's just end it there.

Nevertheless; Haruhi was still very mad. She broke and tore at every branch of this poor tree she could get to; taking no time to sit and think about the fact she was taking out her unbridled anger on a living thing that had done absolutely nothing to her. It might have been just a tree; but it was still a living thing.

For a moment; I thought of yelling out to Haruhi and telling her to stop hurting the poor tree.

But I'm not a moron; and part of me already knew that would just lead to a punch in the face.

Yuki stood beside me; still silent as usual. But in this instance; I noticed that her stare made it look like she was in thought. Did it have something to do with that crane before?

I could have sworn it looked like it was mocking Haruhi. Or perhaps it's just my imagination toying with my mind. On the other hand; strange things are not out of place around Suzumiya-san; so expecting that I saw a crane act like a person wouldn't be so far-fetched to some of the things I have already been exposed to.

But I decided I would leave the topic of humanized cranes aside for now. Let's see if I have any luck calming down Suzumiya-san.

"Um…Haruhi…" I said; almost nervously as I inched towards her. Her amber eyes glared at mine as she swiftly turned to face me. I watched her spit the branch that was between her teeth out of her mouth and onto the ground.

I really hope she's had her shots…

"What?" she asked me loudly; her voice still brimming with anger and dissatisfaction. My voice came out dry and unsure.

"Listen; it's not all that bad that we didn't find your monster. It's just one. The world is probably full of these things. We can always look for another one in the future."

The things I were saying would have sounded reasonable enough; if I hadn't mentioned that the world is probably full of more monsters that needed to be found and captured. I figured by saying this; I might be able to reach out to Suzumiya-san a little bit more; and get her to stop being so angry and pissed about this whole situation.

Haruhi moved away from the tree; seeming unsure about what she wanted to do now. I watched her become suddenly calm and relaxed at my exclamation; and the fact surprised me very much. I didn't think saying something like that would actually calm Haruhi down. I had to make sure I wasn't dreaming about all this.

"Are you feeling a little better now?"

"No. We're just going to leave. There's no point of being here if we don't have a Kongamato to capture." Haruhi said; before walking past me and towards the path that would eventually lead to the beach where are tents waited.

The walk back was mostly silent; except for the fact that Suzumiya-san was in the process of barking out her orders to Mikuru and Itsuki via the walkie-talkie in her hand. She gripped it tightly; almost to the point where I was waiting to hear it crack apart from the pressure.

"Report back to base camp, you two! We're leaving this boring island immediately!" she shouted into the device; her hair bouncing and her eyes glazed with annoyance. I wasn't surprised that Suzumiya-san was already getting bored with the situation; but I didn't imagine she'd be giving up on searching for the Kongamato so easily. I barely heard what came out on the other side; but chances are it was probably Itsuki being a kiss-ass as usual.

But to tell the truth; I was very surprised by the fact that we weren't searching the rest of the island for the accursed beast. I had always imagined that Suzumiya-san would be leading us night and day; through quicksand, piranhas and jungle alike; all in search of the great beast that was the Kongamato.

Haruhi Suzumiya wearing her jungle gear; a machete in one hand as she boldly led us where no club has gone before…

Sounds like a bad movie in the making. I'm not giving Suzumiya-san anymore ideas at this point. But I still didn't want to just pack up and go yet. Especially since I'm the one who'll end up doing all the packing up.

"Can't we just stay a bit longer?" I asked as we walked along; prompting Suzumiya-san to turn and face me. The look she gave me was almost poisonous. I could already see she was glaring at me like I had become traitorous.

"When we get back to the beach, Kyon; we're leaving. I'm bored to hell, and I refuse to stay here any longer." She told me; her voice very commanding to the max. I was beginning to feel the extreme bossiness that Haruhi usually portrayed speedily returning.

"Is that really necessary? Why can't we just stay till tomorrow?"

"Because I said so."

Of course. Haruhi figures she can just say something; and it automatically becomes the law. I'm starting to believe her Brigade Chief title is severely getting to her head.

"I know what this is about. It's because you couldn't find your monster. Now the rest of have to suffer for it as well."

"Who said I was suffering? Stop acting like you know everything, Kyon!" Haruhi replied; pointing her usual accusing finger at me. The best thing to do right now was to just keep cool and keep relaxed. I was trying my best to avoid getting Suzumiya-san mad right now.

During all this; I couldn't help but notice Yuki having been behind us the entire time; reading her book as she literally ignored the situation. Although I get the feeling she's listening anyway.

"Can't you just be a little nice for once? I mean; you can't even let us stay for the guy you've forcefully kissed all these times?" I pleaded; obviously referencing to myself.

Suzumiya-san seemed to begin thinking on what I said; putting a finger on her chin as she focused. This lasted for a few seconds; before her hands went to her hips; and she glared at me with her large amber eyes.

"You should have gotten it by now! I'm the Brigade Chief; which means my word is law around here! And if you don't like it, Kyon; then that's too bad for you!" Haruhi shouted back at me; dead serious as always. I made no attempt to shut her up with my lips; since I had a feeling something like that might just backfire in this situation.

Instead; I watched Haruhi turn and continue along the path that would lead to the beach. I waited for Yuki to slowly pass me; before following suit.

It didn't take us long to reach our tents; because the rest of the walk involved no talking or arguing; which had been the main thing slowing us down.

Haruhi was obviously not mad at me; but herself. She probably was still angry at her failure for not being able to find the Kongamato. The creature had been so close to her grasp; and then it had been snatched away as quickly as the unforgiving sea can claim a lone shell in the middle of a stretch of sand. It was really sad; actually.

We met up with Itsuki and Mikuru right by the location that our tents had been set up. Surprisingly; they didn't look roughed up or anything. I saw that Itsuki's expression was the same as always. A plastic smile.

Mikuru looked shy and quiet as usual; but it was a relief not to see her scared or nervous this time.

"I'm guessing you didn't find anything?" I said to the both of them; my eyes carelessly shifting their view.

"Nothing of interest. We searched for any sign of the Kongamato; but unfortunately came upon nothing." Itsuki replied; his voice as calm and relaxed as he usually portrayed it..

"We tried Suzumiya-san…." Mikuru added softly; her voice shy enough that I could tell she feared being reprimanded by Haruhi. I waited for the inevitable; but Haruhi broke my expectations apart; passing by Mikuru and crossing her arms in dissatisfaction.

"It's not important. We're packing everything up and leaving. Now."

The sound of Suzumiya-san's voice was as dead serious as it could get. She really sounded as if she wanted to leave at this point; and absolutely no force on this planet would stop her. In truth; no force could stop her; because she was essentially the strongest thing this universe had to offer.

Being God sounds like a really easy job; if you ask me.

"This is unfortunate; but I believe we won't be able to leave until tomorrow. My colleagues won't be returning to pick us up until the coming morning." Itsuki commented; causing Haruhi to turn; her eyes dilating in response.

"What!?! Why wasn't I informed of this?"

"I'm sincerely sorry. It seemed to have slipped my mind."

Yes! The moment I've been waiting for! This is when Itsuki Koizumi finally gets in trouble for something! Where he finally gets scolded like he deserves!

"Fine. It seems we have no choice but to accept the predicament. We stay at the base camp until tomorrow." Haruhi said blankly; suddenly deciding there was no other solution but to accept what Itsuki had just told her.

What!?!?

Frankly; I was pissed. I had been waiting forever for Itsuki to get reprimanded for once! And of course; everything has to fall apart when my moment of pure ecstasy was just about to come. Because if I had been the one to tell her the news of us not being able to leave until tomorrow; Haruhi would surely kick my ass without a doubt.

I hate this cursed luck and the way it plays at my life….

Haruhi still couldn't help but cross her arms in annoyance; however. She might not be complaining; but anyone could tell she still didn't enjoy the fact that she was being forced to stay on this island.

"Come on, Suzumiya-san! Let's go for a swim! The water looks so nice…" Mikuru said happily as she took a surprised Haruhi's hand. The expression on her face seemed very shocked about the fact that it was Mikuru who forcing her to do something for once. Nevertheless; they both went into the privacy of tent number two to go and change into their bathing suits that somehow had made it along; even though Haruhi had made it a big point that we weren't on this island to have any fun.

"If I catch you spying on Mikuru; I'll rip your head off!" Haruhi managed to shout at me before she fully entered the tent. She sounded quite serious; and sighed after watching her finally disappear into the interior.

But I couldn't help but realize she failed to mention not spying on her changing as well. Like I've said time and time again; she is quite a strange girl.

And so; I sat in the sand beside Itsuki; watching as Haruhi and Mikuru splashed each other in the waves ahead. It had actually started as Mikuru splashing Haruhi; who had merely stood with her arms crossed; as if refusing to have any fun at all. But it didn't take long for her to finally get into the laidback mood; and her resistance had become futile. Even though she wanted to stay mad; she couldn't help but have a little fun.

And if she could get her mind off the Kongamato; that would certainly be nice.

"It's essential that we continue to keep close watch on Suzumiya-san. We don't want any more possible catastrophes anytime soon." Itsuki said next to me; his eyes almost creepily watching as Haruhi and Mikuru splashed water at each other in their bathing suits. Although it wasn't a bad sight to see; I couldn't help but almost feel a boil of jealously in my veins.

"You always say something like that. Don't you have a care in the world that doesn't involve Haruhi?"

Itsuki turned to face me; the smile already returning. You didn't have to be an idiot to get an idea of what he was probably going to say next.

"Of course. And when the time comes; I'll disclose that information to you."

Great answer. He basically told me he'll inform me when he feels like it; if at all. I'm not really surprised…

Yuki Nagato had been sitting on the other side of me the entire time; her eyes glued to a book as usual. I hadn't really noticed she was there; until she had just decided talking out of the blue. In the same robotic, monotone and flavorless voice that she always used.

"That was not a regular specimen of the Gruidae family. It was not a life form native to this planet at all."

Although her voice came out monotone and emotionless as always; what she was beginning to tell me was not only confusing; but quite unexpected as well. I couldn't help but respond as I usually did when she said things like this.

"What?"

"The crane. It was not one of the life forms that humans find familiar. I analyzed the data surrounding it for the time we had encountered it; and I discovered that the composition of data that it was made up of did not match the same data layouts that most organisms on this planet abide to. It was very out of place. But the fact is apparent that the crane was something not of the Earth."

I was already getting confused. Was Yuki talking about the crane? I was just beginning of forget about that; and Yuki just suddenly brought it up again. And now she was saying that it wasn't even a crane in the first place? This was already sounding stranger than even I could stomach…

"So what was it then? An alien or something?" I asked her; now becoming inherently curious. I watched Yuki look up from her book; staring ahead into space as she spoke. Her voice began to almost sound confused; though only a little.

"I was unable to completely analyze the data. There were some considerable errors in my calculations. I am unable to provide an answer to the origins of this crane. It is unfortunate."

I can't believe this. Even Yuki Nagato has no idea what the crane actually was?

This obviously meant that the situation required more attention. Whatever the crane actually was; it had been able to conceal its true origins from an alien being like Yuki. Which had to mean it was experienced with that sort of thing; and it probably was intelligent in its own right.

But what could it be? And why would it take the form of a crane? I thought of the possibility of the Kongamato being some sort of shape shifter; but quickly dismissed the notion. It didn't seem very credible anyway.

Yuki remained silent now; having gone back to reading her book. So in return; I became silent as well; content with now watching Haruhi and Mikuru continue to splash each other in the sea ahead.

I think I need to start complimenting Haruhi on her looks more often. Maybe if I act like Itsuki all the time; she won't beat me up for anything and everything. Now there's an idea…

When night finally fell; I took the liberty to gather wood for a campfire. Actually; Haruhi took the liberty to tell me to gather wood for a campfire; and I simply obliged without much input in the matter at all. Suzumiya-san was expecting me to do everything she asked at this point; and they only thing that stopped me from arguing was the fact I didn't want to get her mad or angry. Because I could clearly remember the outcome of the last time I had gotten her mad. And I didn't want a similar situation all over again

And so; the five of us sat around this campfire; the stars shining brightly above us. I was sitting beside Haruhi, with Yuki only a few feet away from us; still reading the very same book she had been indulging before. Mikuru and Itsuki were across from us, and I could have sworn their hands had been touching for a moment. Or perhaps not. Maybe I'm just seeing things.

"So I'm thinking that we go looking for another strange creature soon. Perhaps we could make a trip to the Loch Ness and see if we can find that big swimming dinosaur that people say lives in it!" Haruhi announced to us; her voice sounding much happier than before. The flickering light of the campfire cast an orange glow on Suzumiya-san's face; and it just made her already alluring features more pronounced.

I think I failed to mention how close she was sitting next to me. I wasn't surprised when I felt her hand wrap around mine; and I could feel her begin leaning against my shoulder. I almost blushed; mostly because she had still been in her bathing suit this entire time.

"Sounds like it might be difficult. Especially since we don't own any submersible vehicles that I know of." Itsuki commented from the other side of the fire. Even though he sounded like he was disagreeing with Suzumiya-san's idea; I got the notion he was just being a kiss-ass as usual. I had to stop myself from groaning.

"We'll do it eventually. Mark my words; I'll make sure to remember!"

I couldn't help but smile. I did enjoy when Haruhi was like this. When she could just be over-optimistic and full of energy. I was glad she had mostly forgotten about the whole Kongamato thing; and her old self was returning. In the back of my mind; I found myself almost enjoying when she was being just a little bossy from time to time. I guess the repetition has gotten to my head.

It's safe to say that I had no time to react before I felt something suddenly plant itself on my lips. And that something was Haruhi's lips; which had come faster than anyone with a right mind could react. These kisses were like ambushes in way; as they always came before I could do anything at all.

I suddenly felt myself now being pulled closer to Haruhi; and her kissing had become rough and almost forceful with each passing second. In fact; it was beginning to get close to uncomfortable. And that was without mentioning the fact that Itsuki, Mikuru and Yuki could see the entire thing in front of them.

I took no time in pulling away from Haruhi. This was almost a little much.

"What are you doing?" I said; sounding confused at her sudden attack.

"What? That's what you're always waiting for, Kyon. The affection you mentioned the other day. And I was giving it to you. Unless you don't want it!" Haruhi replied; her voice making the last part sound like a threat. I sighed; readying myself for an explanation of my own.

"No, no, no! It's not that. You're just being too forceful with the way you show it. You can't just assume that people like being bossed around with everything."

Haruhi blinked back at what I said. She wasn't really catching my point. I guess I had no choice but to show her.

"Here. Let me give you an example."

Slowly; I inched my face towards Haruhi's. I might have been inexperienced in many things; but I wasn't as clueless as you might think. The kiss I had begun to give Haruhi was a gentle one; as I intended to show her how much better a kiss could be if you prolonged it and took it slow. I closed my eyes for a moment; and I could feel a blush coming on as I realized I was still doing this in front of everyone. I couldn't see Haruhi's reaction; but I got a good idea of what it might be when I felt her arms wrap around my neck. And as I said before; she was still in her bathing suit.

Oh; if Taniguchi could see me now……

He'd never let me live it down.

After a few more seconds; Haruhi and I departed from one another. I opened my eyes to see her blinking in wonder. She looked as if she had just seen heaven.

I didn't know I had that much of an effect. It was just a slow kiss. I certainly didn't think it was all that special.

"That was….different." Haruhi managed to say; with uncertainty at the end of her statement. I couldn't help but slightly grin. It seemed I might have finally stumped Suzumiya-san; because she was clearly having trouble scolding me about that kiss.

At the corner of my eye; I could see Itsuki still smiling as always. Mikuru had an almost surprised expression on her face; which could have been shock; or something else entirely. Yuki was indifferent for the time being; until she decided to break the short silence with her autonomous voice.

"I am still partially confused. Human beings find pleasure in exploring the mouth cavities of one another? I do not see what discernable end this meets; except for the spread of bacteria and other such foreign substances. This requires further study."

I don't know if Haruhi was blushing; but I probably was. Nevertheless; I hoped that Suzumiya-san didn't catch on to Yuki's figure of speech.

But I have to say; for a humanoid interface; Yuki Nagato sure has a lot to learn about what it means to be human. Quite a lot to learn…..


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone. I'm sorry to have messed up before, but THIS is the correct chapter for Incapability CH 5. Enjoy!**

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In any situation; someone might think I was sleazy enough to take advantage of being on a deserted island with a girl I had only been going out with for a week.

Well get those thoughts out of your head now; because I'm no Taniguchi.

And so this night consisted with me having to go into tent number 1; and sleep only a few feet away from Itsuki. Luckily; he didn't start keeping me awake with some obscure theory or other equally boring explanation. But even still: I found myself continually thinking about the events that had transpired today.

First off; we seem to have stumbled upon a crane that wasn't even a crane; but top it all off; it wasn't really a living organism at all. If this is true; what the hell could this thing be?

Perhaps it's some sort of shape shifter sent to assassinate Suzumiya-san! I have to warn her!

Wait a second. I'm overreacting. If it had really wanted to eliminate her; it would have killed her before instead of just mocking her as it did. And who would want to kill Haruhi anyway? If you ask me; everyone just wants to study/observe/worship her.

Ugh. Now I'm just laying here in this sleeping bag; staring up at the top of the tent. I'm having trouble finding the urge to sleep.

But even when I'm awake; my mind finds ways to keep busy. Thoughts race back and forth in my head; some clean; and others not so clean. Let's just say they all involve Haruhi, and then we can just end it there.

My eyes began to grow heavy soon enough; and the sound of the sea outside was actually beginning to become soothing. I had a slight fear that the tents might be washed away. But I tried not to think about it; turning over to get more comfortable in my sleeping bag.

Everything had turned black after that; and I could only assume that I had fallen asleep.

"Kyon!"

The voice was loud; and it caused me to stir in my sleep. I tried to ignore it; because I still felt very tired.

"Kyon! I order you to wake up!"

The voice only got louder; but my eyes refused to open. I was exhausted; and the comfort of being inside my sleeping bag was far better than waking up to an unforgiving day. In fact; I really had no intention in getting out of my sleeping bag.

"WAKE UP!!!"

The voice became deathly loud this time around; and I could also feel someone forcibly shaking me like I was some sort of rag doll. The person's grip was undoubtedly strong; and they gripped at my arms as they thrashed me back and forth. My eyes finally snapped open; and I looked up to see who had gone to such lengths to wake me up.

I should have guessed sooner. Haruhi was literally sitting on top of me; a very annoyed expression on her face. Apparently; she hadn't even taken the time to change out of her bathing suit from the previous day. The moment was awkward; to say the least.

"Finally! Now get out of your sleeping bag so we can pack up and leave!" she told me; pointing of a finger at my face as she continued to sit on me. Her eyes were dead serious as always; and she sounded very displeased at the fact I didn't wake up when she first had called my name.

But Haruhi was still very oblivious to some things. Usually; most guys have no words when a girl in a bathing suit is sitting on top of them for no reason. I was no exception; and I had very little idea of what to say in this specific situation. Haruhi seemed to be waiting for a response; and she looked very impatient.

"Would you mind getting off me first?" I asked her; yawning as I did so.

"Not yet! This is your penalty for not waking up when you were supposed to!"

Oh; what a terrible penalty! A penalty that involves a beautiful girl in a bathing suit sitting on top of you for the next few minutes. I'm really suffering right now.

But Haruhi seems to think that this punishment is suitable for the time being; so she continues to sit on top of me; crossing her arms and glaring.

This lasted for a few minutes; and it consisted of me attempting to move around; and Suzumiya-san continuing to keep herself situated on me and preventing me from moving at all. The awkwardness of the situation was indescribable at points; especially when Haruhi had decided to put her hands down on my chest in an attempt to keep me from struggling. It seemed that I was the only one who wasn't feeling out of place with all of this closeness.

Finally; I felt weight shift on top of me as Haruhi got the urge to stand up. She looked down at me as I sat up; glad she wasn't partially crushing me. I had a thought about what would happen if I mentioned to Haruhi that she'd been making me uncomfortable by sitting on me before.

And I kept my mouth shut anyway as I finally got out of my sleeping bag. I really didn't want to be injured right now.

So it's safe to say that this morning wasn't going to be so much different than I thought it would be.

And what did I expect? I expected to be forced to pack up everything that I had originally unpacked. And I was right.

My morning consisted of me leaving the tent first; after Suzumiya-san finally got the urge to get off me. The sun shone brightly above us; and I could feel its rays already heating me up as I left the sanctity of the tent. Before I could get a few feet to the already alluring waves that moved in the sea in front of me; Haruhi stopped; cutting me off as she turned to face me with the speed of a top.

"Hold it! You're in charge of packing up all our stuff."

That was exactly what I didn't want to hear. I wasn't in the mood to just get to stuffing all this assorted junk back into the massive bag I had carried it in. Plus; the sun was making everything hot enough; and I wasn't in the mood to sweat myself to death either.

"What about you? I have to do this all by myself?" I said; my eyes narrowing as I could feel my shoulders relaxing at the sheer inevitability of the current situation. Haruhi nearly shrugged at me; responding with a voice that made it sound like she was talking down to someone.

"I have to make sure everyone else is accounted for. We won't be a Brigade if we don't have members to bring back with us."

Sure. Because it requires so much time to find everyone else. Especially when I can see them already in the nearby ocean from over here! This is ridiculous! I'm not taking anymore of this! I refuse to be a slave for any longer!

This ends now!

Although I'm embarrassed to say this; the task of taking down tent number one and tent number two wasn't actually as bad as I thought it would be. The amusing part was the fact I had given in to Haruhi so easily. I'll admit that it wasn't really great to watch her and Mikuru swim just a few feet ahead; while I got stuck putting these tents away. Itsuki was behind me; sitting next to Yuki Nagato; who was reading another book as usual. I gave Itsuki a glare when he wasn't looking. The bastard didn't even want to help me with this…

So it's safe to say that I was glad when the boat to pick us all up finally came. Even though I remained the one who was stuck with carrying all of our gear in the process of coming back; it was certainly better than having to pack more stuff in the scorching heat.

And now I found myself standing next to Itsuki Koizumi; the large cumbersome bag that contained the things we had brought now situated by my feet. It was nice to carry anything for the time being.

"That was quite an interesting trip; I if I do say so myself." Koizumi commented; a smug look on his face as his voice slid with the consistency of ethyl alcohol.

I could only help but raise an eyebrow at this comment. I answered with an equally questioning tone.

"You didn't even see anything. How is that interesting at all?"

Itsuki simply smiled; his brown hair suddenly being caught in the sea breeze as he watched the water below for a moment. His colleagues were taking us all back in a private boat; and if there was thing to be said; it was that this boat was much faster than the usual ferry. Suzumiya-san was standing by the driver; pumping him with what sounded like constant questions.

Yuki was reading the same book; her gaze or expression unchanged as the wind tossed her light-colored hair back and forth. I felt sorry for Mikuru; who was struggling to not get sick. Her face was starting to look green at this point.

"Hello?" I said; in attempt to take Itsuki out of whatever daydreams he might have been partaking in at the moment. He turned to face me; smiling again.

"Sorry. I'm just thinking about the recent occurrences. Yuki has informed me of what Suzumiya-san thought she saw. And the fact she claims it to be something that isn't even of this Earth makes it all the more intriguing."

I find it annoying that they all seem to have this little circle in which they share information. I never am part of it; and the only information I usually get happens to only directly pertain to me. Otherwise; everything flies right over my head. I remain in the dark a majority of the time.

"I'm guessing it's another disaster in the making…" I added; leaning back in an attempt to get comfortable; even though the boat was beginning to move uncomfortably fast. Nevertheless; I would try anything to achieve a hint of relaxation at this point.

"I'm starting to believe so. Whatever this entity was; it has an agenda that pertains to Haruhi. And it would be wise for us to find out what that agenda is. In fact; there is an interesting theory that relates to this…"

Great. Here we go again.

I waited; closing my eyes. I waited to hear Itsuki go on about some theory about alternate universe or human instability or something. But for the few seconds I waited; no words came out of his mouth. I opened my eyes; only to see that Koizumi looked mildly confused.

"So what is it?" I said seriously; now wondering why Itsuki had suddenly ceased speaking.

The brown-haired esper didn't say anything for a few seconds. He seemed like a ventriloquist who had hurt his voice box; or an actor who had forgotten his lines. He finally spoke; albeit more quiet than usual.

"I….I forgot. I knew what it was just a moment ago. It just slipped my mind all of a sudden."

What's this? Koizumi is forgetting his usual lines now? I wonder why.

"Well; you can inform me when you remember. If I'm awake…" I replied; talking underneath my breath with the last part. I closed my eyes; sleep overtaking me again.

"KYON! GET UP!"

Haruhi's voice was just as loud and bossy as usual; but its effect on me was doubled due to the fact that I had been dozing off for the time it had taken for us to return. I had nearly fallen out of my seat; my eyes moving back and forth; only to end up being met by Haruhi's; which were fixed in her usual glare.

"We're here. Now let's go before I'm forced to leave you behind." Suzumiya-san said to me; tugging me by the wrist as we left the boat. When we were all finally situated on the dock; I watched Itsuki wave back to his colleagues; before they finally left us; driving their boat far off into the distant sea.

Suzumiya-san took no time in gathering us all together; as per usual. Mikuru was still shaking off her sickness; a tint of green slightly apparent on her face. Itsuki stood with his usual smile; and Yuki had no book with her; as she was now interested in the ground by her feet. It was almost surprising in a way; to see her without a novel. My thoughts were interrupted as Haruhi began to speak to us as a whole.

"You're all dismissed. Koizumi-kun; take our stuff from Kyon. We'll sort it all out tomorrow after school." She said; and I watched as the others began to disperse. I gladly put the bag down; a smile beginning to appear on my face as I began to start walking…

"Not so fast! You're staying!" Haruhi said; grabbing me by the back of my collar and pulling me towards her. I felt like I was being choked.

"What do you need me for…" I said; my voice low as I struggled to escape Suzumiya-san's powerful grip. Unfortunately; I could not; and she continued to talk; right into my ear like it was a telephone speaker.

"I'm hungry. You're getting me something to eat."

I wasn't surprised when Haruhi practically commanded me to do her bidding as usual. The others had already left by now; except for Yuki; who looked as if she was contemplating something. Suzumiya-san ignored her presence; finally letting go of me. I rubbed the back of me neck; searching for any sign of damage. I sighed; realizing that Haruhi was waiting for me to lead the way.

Checking my watch; I could see that it was only noon. There was a day left to kill. Good thing I remembered my wallet.

Without much of my consent; Haruhi had decided she was in the mood for sushi; specifically a place that was right around the corner of her house. Haruhi had me by the wrist as we entered the restaurant; her eyes excited as she didn't care much for all the attention she was attracting. I didn't say a word; submitting to her whims as usual.

We sat in our seats; a large conveyor belt in front of us; allowing for a constant stream of raw fish and rice to come passing by. I got worried at the sight; because I had a feeling that Haruhi would assume she could eat as much as she wanted; and I would have the money to pay for it. The problem was; while I did have my wallet with me; I was short on cash this time around.

I just hoped she wasn't that hungry.

"I can't wait till tomorrow. We have so much to plan for the next few weeks!" Haruhi said to me; sounding happier as she precisely took her desired sushi rolls from the conveyor belt as they came by.

"You sound like you already know what we're going to be doing." I commented; annoyed by the fact I didn't see any of the eel I was craving come around yet. Haruhi was already having herself a grand time with all the sushi she was putting on her plate. I internally sighed.

"Of course I do. Leadership requires thinking ahead."

I didn't answer Haruhi this time; allowing myself to chew the one piece of eel I had managed to find on the conveyor belt. My mind wasn't thinking as much as usual. I admit that my eyes were beginning to rove all around in boredom. They found themselves already staring at Haruhi's face. Guess I was forgetting a lot of things during our short overnight excursion…

Suzumiya-san turned right in time to see this; her expression suddenly becoming calmer than before. I could tell her food had become a source of interest anymore.

"Hey Kyon….I should probably say something…"

"I know. Don't be late tomorrow." I answered; almost ignoring the fact her voice was beginning to turn sweet.

"Not that! I was going to say that I think I've been a little hard as Brigade Chief recently. Not only that; but I've probably been too hard on you…"

A little? That is a definite understatement; considering the fact that I've ended up being the sole person who packs things, carries things, takes orders, does the menial labor, and I end up being forced into just about every little thing that Haruhi Suzumiya comes up with. I'm starting to think we're not even going out at all. I remain her personal soldier; to a degree where she controls me even more than she controls Mikuru-chan.

Or maybe I'm overreacting at Haruhi's usual attitude. Maybe I'm just getting annoyed by little things that don't have much bearing on my life. Maybe…

"It's all fine. Carrying things won't kill me." I reply as nonchalant and as indifferent as I can muster. Haruhi's blinks a few times as she processes my response; and I'm surprised to see a smile begin to appear on her face. She comes close all of a sudden; and I can feel her give me a soft, sweet kiss on the cheek. When she pulls away; all I can see is her eyes shimmering with a warm glow; and I feel her take me by the hand. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't somewhat shocked by all this.

"Thanks. That's a reward, Kyon. But don't expect them often!" Haruhi told me; softly with the first part; and more playfully with the last.

Frankly; I couldn't help but slightly smile. Although the bossiness could be a bother from time to time; I knew that there was always this part of Haruhi that I could never stop loving. That part of her where she could be nice and sweet; but still end up being her usual hyper, eccentric self at the same time.

Eh; I guess being Suzumiya-san's boyfriend might not be so bad after all. Not that I ever thought it was going to be! I had complete faith the entire time!

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	6. Chapter 6

**I'm just the super-updater right now. Hope I'm not too fast for you guys. I'm just on a roll with writing this story. Enjoy!**

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With our recent departure from the island; the days coming ahead looked like they were going to fit right into the norm. Even I had no idea what Haruhi had planned next. Come to think of it; I never have any idea of what Haruhi has planned next.

Our date was shorter than I had expected; even though it had actually been unplanned in the first place. Haruhi made sure to eat her fill after giving me a "reward" for all the time I had taken in putting up with her antics. I could only help but put on a fake smile as I barely paid for the bill at the end of our meal; granted I didn't eat so much myself. Haruhi managed to bring up a sudden craving for octopus and sea urchin that evening; both of which weren't cheap.

So our date had ended with Haruhi giving me a slightly forceful kiss; even though I wasn't actually struggling through it. I doubt you'd be able to struggle with her kisses. A good way to describe them might be that they're sweet, but also undoubtedly rough.

It's an odd thing to describe; I know. But I've stopped questioning such things as this. It's useless to do so anyway.

Walking home wasn't much of a bother; especially since it hadn't even turned into the night yet. The sun was just beginning to set; and the color of the rays that managed to peak through the sky reminded me of Haruhi's eyes. I couldn't help but realize how much she still is on my mind; even after I confessed my true emotions to her just a week ago.

But she is an important factor in my life. She may be God; but she is also my personal variable; the one part of my life that remains unchanging; but changes constantly at the same time. Her inexhaustible optimism, willingness to go impossible lengths, and overall bossy attitude towards everyone; are probably the very things that have attracted me to her like a paper clip attracts to a magnet.

It's strange. I've always been the reasonable one of this bunch. The one who always was supposed to think with his logical mind; and not with his knowledge of classified information, knowledge of obscure theories, or knowledge of being autonomous. I've been the one who always ends up dropping a philosophical anecdote into a conversation; or throwing some witty comment. But Haruhi changed all that.

Did she really change me that much? Has she been morphing my previous attitude this entire time; whether she knows it or not? Or perhaps I'm still the same; but I'm not as critical as I used to be towards Suzumiya-san. That could always be it. Perhaps I've just gotten used to her enough as a friend that going another step after that wasn't really much of a difference. Or maybe I'm not recognizing it the way I should be….

I don't know. And right now; I'd like to just go to sleep. Finally getting home and crawling into this same bed and resting my head down would be the best thing ever right now. Or maybe I could continue thinking for a little while. Maybe I could just think about Haruhi's hair. It's brown, wavy, and she puts orange ribbons in it.

Yeah….orange ribbons….

Ugh. I fall asleep too easily sometimes. Because now I'm waking up; and a groan emanates from my mouth when I realize that it's now a Monday morning. This means multiple things. It means I must go on the same hike to school again; and wait to be pestered by the same sister.

And my fears become realized even as I announce them in my mind. I can already hear the sound of child-sized feet stamping down the hallway towards the door of my room. They were increasing speed with each passing second; and I knew that I wouldn't make it to the door in time; even as I struggled to get out of my covers.

My littler sister ran into my room with the energy of a chimpanzee charged with excessive volts of electricity. The smile on her face always bested whatever Itsuki could come up with on a daily basis; and her high-pitched voice was cute to some; and annoying to others.

Unfortunately; it was always annoying to me.

"Kyon-kun! You're awake! I never got to see you the other night." She said to me; with the sweetest possible voice she could muster as she hugged me tightly; her tiny arms wrapping around my waist.

I looked down; not so much affected by this act of affection. I waited for a few seconds; knowing that she'd probably let go soon enough.

"I had things to do. I'll try not coming back as late next time." I responded; partially lying. I didn't really ever want to come back early; mostly because if my sister did manage to see me; she'd start dragging me into whatever games she wanted to play. And that wasn't my ideal way to spend my evening. It's safe to say most teenage boys don't want to being playing games with a girl; unless that girl is the same age as them. That was a joke; of course….

My little sister gave me another one of her cutesy smiles; before finally unlatching from me and running out of my room. Her energized state was clearly apparent. I just wanted to get to school as quickly as possible; so the chance of running into Taniguchi would be less.

Brushing my teeth, brushing my hair, putting my shoes on and grabbing a quick breakfast were the all the parts of my morning that usually didn't change. I always ended up getting to the start of my usual school route as quickly as possible. Upon the start of my walking; I felt relieved at the sight of no Taniguchi. At least so far.

I was lucky today. There was no sign of that self-deluded boy at all. I had managed to get to school without hearing another of his "What's going on with Suzumiya?" rants.

Now that was certainly a good start to my morning.

As always; Haruhi was situated behind my seat; staring out the window as I entered the classroom. It's been her usual hobby to always do this; and I remember in the first days of me meeting her; she would be doing the same exact thing, even when her seat was all the way in the middle of the room.

"Haruhi." I said, my tone a little more energetic than it usually was. The morning was never my cup of tea.

"Kyon." She responded; her attention no longer on the window; but now on me. Her eyes shimmered as always. I never ceased to be amazed by the fact that this girl had a nearly inexhaustible amount of energy.

We stared at each other for a few moments; and this was mostly because I didn't know what I should say next. Was there really anything to say? I didn't have anything in my mind that might pertain to time travelers, espers or aliens; so that was out. I really didn't want to worry Haruhi by mentioning the crane, and the fact is; she might only get more excited and tenacious if I say anything that would allude to the crane we saw being a suspicious being.

But before I could truly say anything at all, be it about a crane or not, Haruhi leaned forward; giving me a soft peck on the cheek. She didn't move away, while my eyes were just able to catch Taniguchi walking into the room; and he was looking almost tired and worn out. I assume he must have overslept; and that's why I had managed to avoid him this morning.

With Haruhi's face still so close to mine; I watched as Taniguchi's eyes went wide at the sight of us. He put on an expression that looked like extreme shock. It wasn't long before a pointing finger went up; and he exclaimed the following words.

"Look! They are going out! Suzumiya is puckering up for Kyon! It's all true!"

Was this his attempt to embarrass us or something? Because if you ask me; he was just making himself look like more of an idiot than he already was. And it's safe to say he's a big enough idiot already.

The responses I had expected came quick. No one in the rest of the class really gave Taniguchi any attention at all. They had looked back at him once, looked towards me and Haruhi, and then turned their attentions back to whatever they had been originally doing in the first place. Taniguchi's moment had lasted for only a second, and now he just stood there; his finger slowly getting lower as he looked back and forth. He obviously didn't expect to be nearly ignored.

And so; class began shortly after, with the defeated Taniguchi returning to his usual seat. Haruhi had mostly ignored the entire fiasco; burying her head in her arms as usual.

How the hell does she pass this class when she doesn't even pay attention in the first place? I manage to stay awake; and her marks somehow are superior to mine. She is quite an enigma.

And now I'm forced to pay attention to something boring again. I hope this day goes fast….

Whenever I happen to point that out in my mind, the day actually manages to go slow; and I end up having to pay attention through a very sluggish school day. Haruhi gets the luxury of sleeping and still passing with good marks; and I would be lying if I didn't say I was very jealous of her for that.

Lunch involved me eating quickly; mostly because Haruhi had disappeared from behind my seat; having walked off to who knows where. Sometimes she's in the mood to eat; and other times she simply leaves me to the fate of eating with Taniguchi and Kunikida.

Surprisingly; neither one approached me as they usually did. Kunikida was probably sick or something; as I didn't spot him in school at all. Taniguchi didn't so much even have the urge to come over and eat with me. Not that I had really wanted to eat with him. It just surprises me that he was more into just being quiet the entire break period.

Wow. He actually realized himself as saying something outlandish for once. Well that's one thing he's got over Suzumiya-san. He can admit his faults.

After the rest of my school day; the one thing I was now looking forward to was the same thing I managed to look forward to every single day. The time I would spend in the SOS Brigade clubroom; formerly the Literary clubroom.

It felt surprisingly good to turn the doorknob which would always allow me access to the room. I could feel a smile on my face emerge as I entered. But what I saw in front of me were specific sights that I did not expect at all.

The most prominent of them was the state of Yuki Nagato. I had seen her first before anyone; mostly because she was doing something I never thought I would ever see her do in a million years.

Nagato-san was sleeping. She was literally sleeping. This alien had laid her head down on the table in the middle of the clubroom, and like a young child; she was lightly breathing; in equal intervals. Her usually indifferent eyes were now closed; and there was an aura of gentle calm around her as she slept.

I was very confused now. I noticed that Itsuki, Haruhi and Mikuru were all present in the clubroom as usual; but their locations and what they were currently doing wasn't all that important at the moment. I sat down in an available chair; watching in disbelief as Nagato-san continued to sleep in front of my very eyes.

"This is certainly intriguing, is it not?" a voice said from next to me; and the fact it almost made me jump out of my seat wasn't at all surprising. It was none other than Itsuki Koizumi; and he wore his usual plastic smile.

"She's asleep. There's nothing really intriguing about that." I replied; my face going into an expression that alluded to Haruhi being in the room; and that this wasn't the best place to talk about such things. Koizumi smiled again; and when I looked to see what Haruhi was doing, I understood why.

She had a large set of black headphones on, and her face was close to the computer screen. I could only assume that she procured the headphones from the nearby Computer Research Society; because I don't really remember the last time we had something like that just lying around in the clubroom. But whatever Haruhi was watching was keeping her occupied from anything else; and I finally got the notion to relax.

"She's asleep. I didn't think she needed to sleep at all." I said to Koizumi; almost sounding the slightest bit concerned.

"And you are correct. She does not require sleep; unlike human beings and most other living creatures. This is very strange indeed. I watched her reading her book just a moment ago; and she just suddenly started looking drowsy, until she finally put her head down and fell asleep." Koizumi replied; his eyes observing the still sleeping Nagato-san. It was a little creepy, to say the least.

"So why is this happening all of a sudden? What the hell is going on?"

I couldn't help but ask Koizumi a question like that. He was always the one with the information. He was always the one who ended up having an answer to whatever questions I asked; and he even managed to have answers to questions I wouldn't ask. As much as I didn't want to admit it; Itsuki Koizumi was an encyclopedia of information.

He just never tells me everything.

Surprisingly; Mikuru Asahina stepped forward before Koizumi could even utter a single syllable. She was clad in her usual maid outfit; an almost nervous expression on her face. She seemed more nervous than usual.

"It's not just Nagato-san, Kyon. I…I can't remember a lot of things lately. I keep forgetting the classified information I'm supposed to usually know……" she said; her voice shy and quiet.

I might have expected Mikuru to possibly be forgetful of things; but there was something in her voice that sounded very truthful and genuine. I had no choice but to believe her.

"I must admit that I've been forgetful myself. A few important things have slipped my mind recently. It's becoming quite a problem. Not only that, but I've been having trouble controlling my abilities. They seem to go on and off now." Itsuki added; attempting to keep his voice suave and calm. Something was telling me he was trying to hide nervousness.

I wasn't that much of a moron. Even Koizumi couldn't figure out what was going on. I looked behind him for a moment; worried that Suzumiya-san could be listening to us talking.

Nope. She still had those huge headphones on her ears. It was kind of cute to watch her, actually. Her face was intensely focused on whatever action was going on the screen, and she was leaning herself forward as much as possible. She looked like a little girl who was curious about the tiny inhabitants of an ant farm; although the expression on her face was more determined than curious.

"So you're all saying that you've been forgetting things? And the traits that make you different from everyone else aren't as prominent as before?" I asked, and my response was a nod each from both Itsuki and Mikuru.

Just as I had expected.

So the both of them were losing the parts of what made them an esper and a time traveler; respectively. What did this mean? Of course it had something to do with Suzumiya-san. It always had something to do with Haruhi. Was she hiding emotions from us? For all I know; another catastrophe could already be in the making. I had gotten closer to Suzumiya-san these past weeks. I should know more than I already know now!

But I wasn't being affected by whatever was going on. I could only assume that was because of the fact that I was utterly and completely normal. I was the human among God, a time traveler, an esper and an alien. I barely had any idea of the reason that Haruhi had chosen me; save for the fact she had secretly been in love with me. So if I was immune to all this, then that must mean I was capable of doing something to change it.

But how can I change something when I don't even know the source of the problem? Ugh. This was messing with my head.

Something managed to catch my attention however. It was a stirring that was occurring right next to me. Yuki Nagato was slowly beginning to wake up. I watched as her eyes began to open with the speed of hangar doors.

It seemed that Yuki was surprised. Her eyes scanned the surroundings that were closest to her; which happened to be myself and Koizumi. It wasn't long before she brought herself to sit up. She sat in front of us now; fully awake. Her hair looked almost messy; as if she hadn't gotten any sleep at all.

Something was peculiar though. I could see bags under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't gotten any sleep for the past few days. And who's to say she did? As a humanoid interface; I'd expect she wouldn't really need sleep at all. But here she was in front of me; looking as tired as I might look on any given morning.

"Nagato-san?" I said to her, waving my hand in front of her face to make sure she really was fully awake. She didn't physically react to it; but she spoke in her usual autonomous voice.

"I am operational again. My systems needed an unforeseen recharging period. It was not part of the day's quota."

"You mean you didn't intend to sleep? You just fell asleep like human beings usually do?" I asked; now curious. I had never known Yuki to express much similarity to the human beings she was probably created to mimic.

"Yes."

It was surprising to note how much her responses were beginning to sound almost emotional. She was revealing hints of an actual personal voice; and that was highly unexpected. I never thought she had her own voice to begin with.

Before Yuki could say anymore; I heard Haruhi stand up from her seat in front of the computer. She put her headphones down on the chair; and I turned to see an almost melancholic expression on her face. She apparently wasn't satisfied with whatever she had been watching.

"You can all go, I guess. Today is a break day for the Brigade; because I can't think of anything for us to do."

This wasn't something I had expected to hear. Didn't Haruhi mention before how she had plans for us? What happened to all those plans? I was beginning to fear that another case of melancholy was already coming upon Haruhi. And it was now linking itself to all the strange things that Koizumi, Nagato and Asahina-san were experiencing.

I turned to face Yuki for a moment. She blinked in front of me; surprising me again.

"My systems are showing signs of a need of organic sustenance. This is also unforeseeable."

Now Nagato is hungry? This is certainly intriguing; as Koizumi might say.

But it's scary as well. Because now something is going on around me, and I don't know what it is yet. Does this mean that the universe is threatening to end again? What exactly the hell is going on?!?

I sighed. What's the point of asking? Whether I like it or not; these questions answer themselves only when they want to. As always….


	7. Chapter 7

**And here's the next chapter everybody! I'd never leave you guys on too much of a cliffhanger. Enjoy!**

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I would be lying if I said there weren't a million questions going through my mind right now. I was confused to the maximum degree. But could you blame me?

Itsuki Koizumi had just told me that he was losing his esper abilities; not to mention the fact he was losing some of his memories as well. Yuki Nagato was beginning to act like a human, and Mikuru Asahina was also exhibiting signs of the same memory loss that was affecting Koizumi.

And this all had to do with Haruhi Suzumiya. She was the clear and present center of the entire problem. And she had absolutely no idea of any of it.

"What are you all waiting for? Go already!" Haruhi said; her voice just as commanding as usual. She had told us that today was our break day; and that there was no reason for us to be staying in the clubroom. I'm still surprised I didn't take this as a chance to sprint out.

I watched Koizumi leave first, before Mikuru followed him out. It was strange to see that she didn't even take the time to change out of her maid outfit; but she just left anyway. Yuki was the last to leave; and I could see that her movements were more haphazard and drowsy than normal. She really did look exhausted.

"Yuki needs more sleep. I don't want members who are going to come in like they're practically zombies." Haruhi commented behind me; having crossed her arms as she watched Yuki close the clubroom door behind her.

I turned to face Haruhi, raising an eyebrow as I did so. She looked focused at the moment; even though there was really nothing for her to focus on. Her eyes almost looked as if they were struggling to stop glaring. Haruhi's arms remained crossed, and she swung her face in my direction when she finally noticed that I had remained in the room.

"What are you looking at?" she asked me; her hands suddenly moving to her hips as she attempted to talk down to me.

Stuff like this wasn't anything new. I had begun to get used to Suzumiya-san's attitude to everything and everyone. Though it changed drastically and sporadically; there was still some sense of rationality in the way she expressed herself. Just enough of it for me to single out from all the rest of her eccentricities. I decided that the only sensible thing to do now was to try and be reasonable with Haruhi. Though that in itself sounds unreasonable.

"Is something bugging you? Because you seem different lately." I asked Haruhi; my voice doing it's best to express actual concern and care for her. It's not like this was something that I was trying to fake; but I knew for a fact something was definitely bugging Suzumiya-san.

"It's nothing. Stop worrying about me, Kyon." Haruhi replied; keeping her arms crossed as she actually turned away from me. It seemed that the window had suddenly become much more interesting to her. The sun was beginning to set outside. It's a real coincidence how many sunsets I've really been noticing lately.

I walked forward; putting my bag down in the process. A few months ago; and advance like this would most certainly be unwanted from Suzumiya-san; even from me. But I think there's a supposed relationship between us now; so I expected that even Haruhi wouldn't be as introverted around me as she usually was.

Slowly; I put a gentle hand on her shoulder; prompting her to face me, even though she still had her arms crossed and her face twisted in an annoyed expression.

"You can't even tell me? Come on. You can trust your underlings. You can trust your…"

My words seemed to just spiral off at the last part. I meant to say "boyfriend"; but the word didn't want to leave the sanctity of my mouth. It sat there, before dissolving back into the back of my mind; unused and unwanted.

"It's none of your business. And don't go trying to convince me with your kissing. That won't work." Haruhi said; almost pouting as she remained defiant about keeping her emotions secret from me.

"Fine. It's not like I was going to do it anyway." I replied; adding the last part purposefully. It was done so that it might not only ignite Suzumiya-san's temper; but also possibly have her reveal her thoughts in the process. She was sometimes one to just let things out by accident.

"What's that supposed to mean?!? Am I not good enough for you or something!?!?" Haruhi said with a shout, while grabbing me painfully by the ear at the same time. Like I've said; her grip is strong, and this was certainly hurting like hell.

"I mean….I just didn't think about it! Guess it didn't cross my mind!" I quickly replied, trying to sound as sorry as possible, while still in Haruhi's hold. My ear felt like it was going to be torn right off. I could tell that Suzumiya-san thought about my answer for a few seconds, before letting go of my ear; apparently satisfied with my response.

I rubbed my ear as if I was nursing a fatal wound. God, she has a real temper! I can only imagine if I ever had a second mind to break up with her…

Note to self; that would certainly mean the end of the world. In short; this means I have to stay with Haruhi as long as she wants. So if I'm correct; I have to be monogamous; or the entire universe could suffer at Suzumiya-san's hands. Wow; that almost sounds unfair, if you ask me.

It didn't take long for me to go back to my previous train of thought; mostly because I didn't really want to think of the consequences of actually doing something as foolish as breaking up with God. I looked back at Haruhi with uncertainty; nervously rubbing the back of my neck. For a few seconds; there was pure silence in the club room.

"You're still not going to tell me what's on your mind?"

Haruhi looked as if she was thinking about her answer to my question. She was staring away from me for a few seconds; and it was hard to admit that her attempts at ignoring other people were actually cute in way. Finally; Haruhi took a big deep breath, and she let arms finally uncross and hang at her sides.

"I'm just bored. Everything is too normal. I want something exciting to happen."

Despite the way she put it; Suzumiya-san did have a point with what she was saying. Although I didn't perceive the things going on in my life as boring; Haruhi always did. She always seemed to find the boring element to everything; even though her main goal was to find the exciting one. To Suzumiya-san; everything was undoubtedly boring. And that was why Koizumi insisted we entertain her and satiate her in any way we could. Even when I didn't want to say he was right; he always was anyway.

I looked back at Haruhi. I was a little unsure of what to say to her. I could go on about how she was really surrounded by all the bizarre people and things she searched for; but I certainly wasn't stupid. I sighed, realizing I could only say so much to Haruhi in response.

"It's not boring to me. You're the only one who gets bored like this. Maybe you should just be a little satisfied for once." I blankly replied. I didn't realize what the unintended results of my words might actually be.

"You don't get it!" Haruhi replied with an obviously angry tone; her finger suddenly pointing directly at my face. She has ceased to stop all this accusing pointing.

"I'm never going to be satisfied with normal. I'm only going to be satisfied with all the time travelers, espers and aliens that I can ever find!"

Suzumiya-san's words bounced through my ears with the speed of a runaway train. They were clear and concise, along with being dead serious as always. I was beginning to get the feeling that Haruhi thought that either I wasn't taking her seriously; or I was trying to mock her. Before I could say another word; she turned around, now diverting her attention to watching whatever was out the clubroom window.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late." Haruhi said to me; not making any attempt to change her annoyed tone of voice or to turn around and face me. I wasn't dumb enough to realize that Haruhi was indirectly telling me to leave. But I still couldn't help but feel left in the dark; not to mention saddened by the fact that Haruhi was making it seem like I had wronged her in some way.

What could I do now? Haruhi obviously didn't want to talk to me. The only available option now was to just leave.

And that's what I did. Without so much as a single word; I left Haruhi to think. The door closed behind me with little noise, and I didn't even take a look back to see if Haruhi had reacted at all.

I still don't get it. Was it my fault that Suzumiya-san was pissed off from the lack of strangeness lately? She seemed to make it sound like that. Her mood wasn't the same one I had seen the other day; when I had been forced to take her out to eat. She was more calm and happy yesterday. Now she was in yet another bad mood. And these bad moods seemed to be much worse than her melancholic ones.

The truth was; I haven't wronged Suzumiya-san at all. She was just taking out her problems on me. Even though I was the closest contact and friend that she probably had; she still couldn't help but get mad at me the most. Even though I was practically her boyfriend; she still had the utmost reason to continue treating me like a lowly Brigade member.

These thoughts and more surged through my mind as I left North High and began to head for home. The evening was already beginning to fall; and I had a feeling Haruhi would be leaving the clubroom soon enough. She probably just didn't want to leave at the same time as me. I wonder if she's watching me from the window above….

I can't believe I'm thinking this; but I'm almost starting to question this "relationship".

What had Haruhi done or shown that proves we're going out? We've held hands a few times. She kisses me when she wants to. I kiss her from time to time. We've gone on one actual date. But even I'm starting to doubt us being together. This relationship feels like the usual fare with her. Suzumiya-san needs to be in control; and I'm expected to just listen to her orders.

But I'm not her personal soldier! I'm just another teenage boy. It's not like I even asked for all this weirdness to pile on top of me when Haruhi entered my life! Even though it was boring; it was somewhat tranquil, and free of all the stress that I have now.

Haruhi might be God; but she still doesn't understand everything. She doesn't get that the world isn't supposed to revolve around her. Koizumi would say it literally does; but I still hold to saying that it shouldn't. Just because she has the power to change whatever the hell she wants; doesn't mean she should be indirectly exercising it whenever she gets into a piss-off mood.

Now the walk home is beginning to suddenly feel slow. I don't know if it's all because of the fact that I'm thinking; or maybe it's because I'm in no real rush to get back to my same old room.

Nevertheless; everything is starting to strangely feel quiet and empty.

Ugh; why do these things have to happen to me? Why did I have to end up falling for Haruhi Suzumiya? Someone might tell me it was fate, and someone else might tell me it was the doing of that same teenage girl. For all I know; she could be pulling the strings to all the feelings and emotions in my head. For all I know; I'm being forced to love her.

What the hell am I thinking? Are these thoughts all coming to me because I'm a little mad at Haruhi? The truth is; probably.

"You look deeper in thought than last time." A voice said; coming from beside me. If I hadn't been so enwrapped with my own thoughts; I might have actually been a little jumpy at the fact Koizumi was just walking next to me all of a sudden. If I hadn't known better, I might have said he was there the entire time.

Was he following me? If so; then that's kind of creepy. Nevertheless; I still manage to respond to his comment.

"I'm fine. There's a lot going on between me and Haruhi. I'm guessing you would know."

I didn't even have to look to know that Itsuki was most definitely smiling. He had his hands in his pockets, and the way he spoke gave me the impression that he was either too confident, or lying about something.

"I have some idea."

"Oh, you do?" I replied; purposely with an indignant tone. But Koizumi just gave me another smirk. That could go so far as to piss me off; especially considering my own mood right now.

"There is some tension between Suzumiya-san and you. And that's because of recent events. I'm starting to believe that the failure she experienced on that island is still affecting her. I'm also starting to believe that something beyond the end of the world is on the horizon." Koizumi said, and it was easy to tell that I was going to be doing more listening than talking in this conversation.

"You mean another end of the omniverse or whatever it was. I think I get that at this point. End of one universe, and then the creation of a new one."

Frankly; I was getting a little tired of the fact that Koizumi seemed to always assume I never knew enough. Just because he didn't tell me half the stuff I needed to know concerning Suzumiya-san; doesn't mean that I'm not able to come to conclusions myself.

"I don't think you understand at all. This is a very grave matter." Itsuki answered; his voice suddenly going from carefree to serious.

"You've already seen that I, Asahina-san and Nagato-san are beginning to lose what makes us special. My abilities have been weakening, Asahina is losing knowledge of the future, and Nagato is beginning to turn into a human being. These are not pure coincidences. They are all directly rooted to Suzumiya-san. Something inside her is causing us all to suffer."

"And do you have any idea what that might be?" I ask; trying my best to sound curious; but mostly wondering if Koizumi had a good answer to what he was trying to explain.

"I have only subtle clues, but I'm beginning to suspect that Suzumiya-san is beginning to lose her belief in the extraordinary. And once that belief is truly gone; the very things she has caused will begin to dissipate. But the worst part is not even that. With the help of some of my colleagues; we've concluded that Haruhi will slowly begin to lose her power as a deity. In essence; she will soon cease to be what we might call "God"."

"So you're saying that everything might just end up normal? The world might just end up being the way it once was; without any time travelers, espers or aliens?"

If I didn't know any better; that entire premise didn't actually sound so bad. A regular world wouldn't sound too bad at all.

Koizumi looked as if he was ready to make another smirk; but something was stopping him. His eyes narrowed; and his voice came out as if he was proclaiming impending doom. And in a way; he really was.

"It could be that simple; but it's not likely. Instead; I believe that when Suzumiya-san finally ceases to be God, all of reality will simply collapse. Everything that once was will be no more. But that's all in theory, of course."

Koizumi's words might have alluded to being "in theory"; but even I knew that they were probably right. It was kind of scary that he talked about it in such a carefree way. I certainly wouldn't be smiling if I was telling someone that the whole universe was on the verge of ending.

"I'm not even going to know who you are soon. It seems that Suzumiya-san is affecting our memories with every passing moment. I've forgotten so many things already. For all I know; I've forgotten the key to solving this entire problem." Itsuki added; his voice becoming serious again. He didn't smile this time.

"I must go. I have things to attend to. Watch yourself. Or better yet; watch Suzumiya-san." Itsuki finally said; before I watched him turn a street corner and disappear from my view. I could only expect him coming and going so fast. I'd absorbed most of what he said; but it was still hard to take in.

It's almost funny in a way, even though it shouldn't be. Reminds me of what Haruhi said the first day I met the girl. The day she stood up in the middle of the class, and said…

What did she say? I could have sworn….I remembered that. It was something about….

God…I think I've seriously forgotten it. I forgot the one statement she told everyone on her first day in North High.

Eh; it's no big deal. I'm sure it'll come back to me. I doubt it can stay out of my head for too long.

It was only then, after Koizumi had gone and my thoughts had stopped racing, had I noticed how dark everything had suddenly become. The streetlights themselves were flickering off as I looked around. There were no sounds at all. Everything was certainly eerier than normal. And to top it all off; I realized that I never had walked very far on my route to get home. I could have been walking in circles this entire time; because the houses hadn't changed at all.

Where the hell did I go?

In this suddenly dark atmosphere; it becomes easy to notice a white crane slowly descending from the sky. And it was the very same white crane that I had seen with Haruhi; back when we had taken an overnight trip to that deserted island.

Its feathers were just as brilliant as before, and I noticed that it flew towards the ground with a certain defined elegance. The bird flapped its wings slowly but efficiently. When its feet finally reached the asphalt, I watched as its gaze focused completely on me.

Before I could do anything; the crane began to dematerialize in front of me. Its body started breaking piece by piece; as if it was disassembling itself. I watched the tiny bits start to go into the air; collating themselves in what looked like a large cloud.

It was then I noticed that they were reassembling themselves. They started small; having put themselves together into a pair of shoes. The tiny particles continued reconstructing; now forming a skirt, and a dress. It was a familiar uniform. The same one that all the girls at North High wore.

When I started to see blue hair forming; I was already beginning to back away. It took another few seconds, and there was soon a person who was now standing in front of me.

A person I had watched literally sublime into data particles in front of my very eyes. A person I never thought to see again. To tell the truth; she wasn't really a person in the first place.

It was none other than Ryoko Asakura; the human interface that had tried to murder me, and would have been successful; if Nagato-san hadn't stopped her.

But there she was in front of me. She was smiling, and her voice was strangely cheerful as she spoke.

"It's been awhile. I missed so much since Nagato-san decided I had lost my purpose. I really wouldn't try running if I were you. There's a lot to discuss, and you need to be present to hear it."

Discuss? I have a feeling she's going to be doing this discussing over my dead body.

"I'm guessing this place is under your jurisdiction like last time?" I asked nervously; with a purposeful tone that implied not really wanting an answer. I was done backing away; because I knew there was no escape at this point.

Ryoko simply nodded; a smile still on her face before she started walking towards me; her blue hair waving slightly as she did so.

I had no words right now. I was clearly trapped, and the only thing on my mind was the fact that my death was staring me in the face. What might have I done if I had known something like this might happen? Well; I would have told Haruhi to shut up and just…

Never mind. I should have seen something like this coming. I should have; but I didn't. Stupid me…..


	8. Chapter 8

**Yay for fast updating! I guess you count on me not to leave you in the dark for too long! Enjoy!**

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Something about my current predicament this was reminding me of a sci-fi flick I had seen some time ago. It was one of those cheesy B-movies; where the special effects were so bad that they make want to kill yourself by shoving your head into the television. In this specific, badly made movie; the main character ends up getting killed by the one girl who he never paid any attention to. She was psychotically in love with him; but he never gave her a chance.

So she kills him. With a sledgehammer. I stopped watching after that. The movie freaked me out; to tell the truth.

Was I in a similar situation? Of course I was.

There was a girl walking towards me. Her name was Ryoko Asakura; and she was a human interface that had tried to kill me only a few months ago. Yuki Nagato, another human interface, had narrowly prevented my demise. She wiped Asakura-san's data signature from this world. I had watched the blue-haired human interface evaporate in front of me.

But now she was back. And she had the same overly cheerful smile on her face; as she approached me with the grace of a swan. But I wasn't admiring her looks or anything like that. I was more scared than ever. Because the first thought that went through my mind was as such.

I'm going to die. There's no running away from it this time. There was no Yuki Nagato to defend me now.

And so; I had no choice but to kneel in defeat. I closed my eyes and let my arms fall to my sides. I guess I lived a good life. Was there much left to say?

"Just make it painless, Asakura-san. If you can do that; I'll be able to get through dying much more easily."

In the back of my mind; I hope Ryoko had enough mercy to at least grant me the right to a quick and possibly painless end. I always thought that whenever the day I did die came; it would be a death in which I might painlessly pass away in my sleep. An ideal way to die; I might say.

But nothing ideal really ever comes to me, does it?

And so; I waited. I waited for the knife blade to come cutting right into my jugular vein. I waited to feel my blood splash out in front of me like someone had spilled a pitcher of dark red fruit punch. I waited; but the sensations of pain and agony never came. The feeling of a blade cutting into my skin never came. I only heard Asakura-san's voice again.

"Kill you? Why would I do that? Killing you isn't really on my agenda."

My eyes snapped open as if they had been held shut by rubber bands. Asakura-san stood in front of me without a weapon in either of her hands. It was easy for anyone to notice that she had all the beauty that Taniguchi kept talking about. She was no Haruhi; however.

"Wait a second…you're not going to slice off my head? What the hell are you keeping me against my will for! I want some an-"

I only stopped talking when I felt Ryoko put a single finger on my lips to silence me. I was staring right into her shimmering, azure eyes now, and they had a strange unearthly sense to them. To me; it was easy to tell that she wasn't human. The smile on her face wasn't plastic like Itsuki's; but it had something to it that seemed inherently evil. Even though from afar Ryoko might just seem like a nice school girl; I would always know what she really was. I would always know what she hid from everyone else. But I guess you expect knowing that information after the same girl tries to kill you.

"I don't need to kill you. If I needed to kill you; the said action would be done already. No; I'm here to inform you of forthcoming data. Or as you humans might call; future events." Ryoko told me; her voice brimming with a cheerfulness that could nearly match Suzumiya-san's.

What? She's not here to kill me…but to just tell me stuff? That doesn't make any sense! Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on here!?!

"If you're not here to kill me…why are you here then?" I asked this human interface; slightly backing away from her in the process. Though I was on the ground and couldn't actually crawl backwards very far; I couldn't help but not want to be so close to her.

Ryoko smiled at me; fully standing up so that she was now looking down at me. To anyone else; it could have been described as many things. Sweet, cute, genuine and possibly even attractive might have been words that Taniguchi or any other equally ignorant person might use. I think I prefer "untrustworthy."

"There is much you do not know. For a human; you seem to be remarkably ignorant. Suzumiya has so much going on around her that you have no idea of. She has so much potential. And it continues to stay untapped."

I'm ignorant? You mean I'm always left in the dark all the time! I'm the one who ends up never being told anything! I just hear exactly the amount that's required; and nothing more! If anything; I try to stay far from ignorant!

Nevertheless; Ryoko continued to speak; her back facing me and her voice overflowing with cheerfulness. Where Yuki showed no emotion in her manner of speaking; Ryoko showed happiness in excess.

"It wasn't hard to reassemble myself. While Nagato-san might have managed to cause my deconstruction; she failed to eliminate me completely. Data isn't hard to manipulate, so it only took me a few months to finally reassemble myself. I have to commend her; she separated me well."

So she was just telling me her whole life story? Why reveal your secrets to your enemies? This sounded not only stupid; but not at all productive. I always thought that the real villains in fiction never told anyone of their plots and schemes. Monologues are utterly useless; if you ask me.

"It's so easy to manipulate the way Suzumiya thinks. She can be so impulsive. It's very interesting to observe her reaction to everything. Especially when things don't go her way."

I didn't like what Ryoko was alluding to. I began to think back. The crane. The island. The Kongamato…

I was starting to question exactly what we had seen. Could it be that…….we never saw the Kongamato at all? Perhaps…

My thinking stopped. I looked back for a second. Then I looked forward. Ryoko still wasn't facing me. Realizing this might be my only chance; I stood up, and made a run for it.

It would be a lie to say I made it very far. After running for only a few feet, I hit something in front of me; hard. Whatever it was; it stopped my progress, and caused me to fall right backwards into the asphalt. And falling on your head is not the best thing in the world. I could already see stars flashing in front of my eyes as I lay on the ground; disoriented.

"I told you that you shouldn't try to run. There's no escape from this data space."

Ryoko's face was now right over mine as she looked down at me. I was lying on the ground as I looked up into her eyes. Something was telling me she was annoyed, but the expression on her face didn't show it at all. Her blue hair slightly bounced as she looked down at me. She was still smiling. I beginning to think her smile was far worse than Itsuki's.

"You don't understand the gravity of this situation. Something of great observational merit is going to occur soon. Causing Suzumiya to believe that she had failed in finding her monster was just the trigger. The precursor to the final outcome." Ryoko told me; her eyes glaring into mine even though they seemed like they were carefree rather than angry.

So she's saying that the whole monster thing was a fake? We hadn't actually seen a Kongamato at all. This was reminding me of the act Itsuki put up, where he "created" a fake Agency member with his esper abilities. Damn it! I really hate all these illusions! Why can't everything just be guaranteed real for once?

"That creature you and Suzumiya saw; that was just me. The island Suzumiya chose just happened to be the very same one in which I was able to reconstruct myself. I don't know if it was blind luck or fate; but it was certainly helpful. It wasn't hard to make her start disbelieving. All it took was turning into a monster one minute; and then becoming a crane the next. If you knew what data manipulation was like, you'd realize what I was talking about."

Ugh. Even the human interface finds the need to talk down to me. Isn't there a point to all this ranting? Something about Haruhi? It's always something about Haruhi.

"And your point is…" I said; already beginning to feel more bored than threatened. It seemed that if Ryoko wanted to actually kill me, she wouldn't be wasting time with the things she was telling me.

"The point is simple. My purpose has been re-established upon my reconstruction. Nagato-san had no knowledge of my existence, and the fact she is becoming human herself only helps my situation. Perhaps I'll just kill her when I find the time. But there's only one thing important to me now."

Unless I was crazy; it seemed that Ryoko was basically telling me everything that I needed to or wanted to know. I was getting the entire breadth of her plans. She was literally revealing it all.

"And that might be?"

I couldn't help but ask a question like that. Asakura was practically begging me to ask her more about all this. I think the fact she had started her monologue in the beginning was my first hint.

"The largest output of data that has ever been recorded. Simply put; the destruction of the omniverse."

The words that came out of Ryoko's mouth came to me as clear as crystal. I had heard the word "omniverse" multiple times before; and Yuki had explained it as "the ensemble of all universes that encompass reality." But when Ryoko mentioned the fact that there was going to be a destruction of the omniverse; my mind couldn't help but immediately start worrying. I was worrying to the max now.

"I don't believe you." I replied; trying to sound unsure. This was all mostly done so that I could get Asakura-san to reveal more. If I could find out anymore information that could be relayed to Itsuki, Yuki or Mikuru; then I just might be able to prevent whatever event Ryoko was talking about.

"You should, human. Suzumiya is slowly beginning to lose her faith. And with her faith goes her ability to manipulate data. Once she's completely lost it; the omniverse will just collapse on itself. It will be the largest data explosion to ever be seen. It's a shame you won't be able to observe it." Ryoko replied to me; the same smile still on her face as she spoke with an almost genuine sense of excitement at the concept of reality ending.

I wasn't too excited about it. And I doubt that anyone else would be too excited if they knew this. There's not much excitement to the end of all reality.

"Why are you telling me all this? How do you know I'm not going to find a way to stop it all? I could easily tell….certain people." I asked; finally getting the courage to stand up. There was still an apparent nervousness in my voice; mostly because I was deathly afraid of the fact this exclamation could very well get me killed.

"The people you think you'll be telling won't know what you're speaking of. The fact that Suzumiya is losing her abilities is affecting much more than you know. It's already affected memories. We don't have long before everything ends. It's going to be so beautiful….I can't wait."

I have to say that the way Ryoko said the last part was far creepier than any smile that Koizumi has ever given me. Yuki Nagato was a human interface like Ryoko; but she didn't seem like she wanted everything to end. From what I could see; Asakura-san was getting a kick out of the whole concept.

"I don't give up that easily. For all you know; I have powers that I can use against you!" I answered back; making my voice sound as threatening as possible; even though what I was saying was in fact a really, really big lie. And to top it all off; I was scared to hell. I was just good at hiding it.

"I'm not stupid, human. I know you're not special at all. You're just like the rest of your race. Absorbed in your own insignificant lives. You humans are all the same. I don't see why Nagato-san has any interest in you at all." Ryoko responded; a smile still on her face, but her voice showing signs of doubt. I'm guessing she didn't really believe what I said.

"I've said what I needed to say. There isn't much time left. You might as well do the things you need to do. I doubt I'll be seeing you again."

With that; I watched as Ryoko looked at me curiously. It was almost as if I was some sort of new toy, and I watched one of her hands start coming close to my face. I didn't know what she planned on doing; but I didn't want to be around to find out.

But when I tried to move; it felt like my legs were stuck in cement. I couldn't move a muscle. And Ryoko's single finger was now approaching my forehead. I felt multiple beads of sweat. I guess my time really has come.

I've lived a good life, right? Being with Suzumiya-san is pretty great. The fact she's been able to spice up my life all this time has just been great in general. I'm pretty sure I'd like to see her again. Tell her I'm sorry for the way I act sometimes. Tell her that I l-….

I think you get the point.

But now; I close my eyes. All that was left was to wait for the inevitable.

When Ryoko Asakura's single finger touched my forehead; I felt like someone had just flushed me down a toilet. My eyes remained closed shut as my body felt like it was being tossed around left and right. I didn't know where I was; but I certainly could tell that I was feeling moved. The sound in my ears was deafening. I was just waiting for my head to explode already. I expected this to be quick.

But before I could think another thought; it all suddenly stopped.

Everything had just become calm. I wearily opened my eyes.

I looked up to see a ceiling. It was a ceiling I had always been familiar with. It was the ceiling to my room. I groaned to myself; sitting up in my bed. The sun was already up outside, and my clock signified that it was the usual time I might get up for school.

I guess I didn't die yet. And even I wasn't stupid enough to think that I had just had another crazy dream. No; that was very real. And there was only one person I wanted to see now.

The process of getting to school involved me sprinting with the speed of a track runner along my usual hiking route. It was not something I did often; but it was necessary. All that was important to me now was seeing Haruhi. I needed to try and convince her in some way that the world wasn't as boring as she was thinking. If I was lucky; Itsuki might even be able to assist me. I should warn Yuki too. Ryoko had said she planned on possibly killing Nagato-san in her now human state. Come to think of it; I have to warn them all.

There was no time to lose. I felt like a god all of a sudden as my legs carried me towards North High with speed that even I didn't think I had. Sure, I probably looked ridiculous. In fact; this high speed running seemed more like something Suzumiya-san would do.

But it wasn't important right now. What was important was getting to Haruhi. I wanted to get to her as quickly as possible.

Needless to say; my running probably allowed me to evade Taniguchi this morning. I ran up the stairs to my classroom with vigor. Everything in my mind revolved around Suzumiya-san. In truth; I didn't even know what I was going to say to her. I had barely any idea what I was going to say to anyone. But none of that mattered. The point was to get to her.

I couldn't help but wonder what Haruhi was thinking when she watched me run into the class room; sweat on my brow. I was heaving as I approached her. It seemed that she had been looking through the window as usual; but now I had become her new interest as I speedily walked towards her.

"Kyon? What's all the running for?" she asked me as I approached, but I ignored her question. My breath came and went in sharp intervals. I was tired as hell; but there was a lot that needed to be said.

And without even a second thought; I sat right in front of Suzumiya-san; taking her by the hand as I faced her. My expression was a mixture of exhaustion and seriousness. I didn't even have the strength to sigh. But I did happen to notice that Haruhi was beginning to blush more than I've ever seen her blush.

"What do you think you're doing!?!?" she exclaimed at me; suddenly standing up from her chair as she disconnected her hand from mine. Her face was looking partially beet red, not to mention confused.

What did I do this time?

"What gives you the right to just suddenly take your Brigade Chief's hand, Kyon? Since when did you get the impression that something like that was okay?" Haruhi asked me; her voice dead serious and her hands at her hips as she spoke. At this point; the entire class had noticed our situation. The stares were quite unnerving.

"Since…."

I couldn't finish my reply. That was mostly due to the fact that I already knew why this was happening. I could barely believe it; but it as happening.

Haruhi had forgotten everything. She's forgotten all the things that happened between us. She's forgotten what she said to me.

A few weeks ago; I might have been thrilled by something like this. I might have been glad that I could finally forget about dealing with Suzumiya-san. I could finally stop having these weird feelings for her.

But I did not. In fact; I couldn't help but just put my head down on my desk in total defeat. Because I wasn't feeling so good all of a sudden. Not so good at all….

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**No; the story isn't ending soon. I'm just saying that the next update will occur in the next three or four days. Just so you all know; so you don't accuse me of giving up on this, which I would never do. **

**Hey; even I need a break sometimes. You guys will just have to wait. :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ah...it's good to be writing again! After the four day hiatus; I have a new chapter for all of you! Enjoy!**

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I almost didn't believe what I was hearing. Not even the clearly serious expression on Haruhi's face was enough to convince me of the events unfolding before my very eyes. Even I couldn't guess that Haruhi would suddenly start losing such important memories.

Which memories am I speaking of? The ones that involved Suzumiya-san and me, of course. The memories of us holding hands, watching the stars in that lonely field, and sharing those interesting kisses. Memories that I couldn't help but want to remember.

Memories that I couldn't help but want to experience again.

Who would have thought that I would want those things again? I certainly did not ever expect myself to want to voluntarily be so close to Haruhi. I also didn't expect myself to ever consider actually going out with her.

But throughout my days with Suzumiya-san; I've found that I couldn't help but become increasingly attracted to her. It was more subconscious than conscious; but it had occurred either way. I had slowly fallen for Haruhi more and more as time passed, until the point came where I could no longer hold it in any longer.

But to my dismay; Suzumiya-san was making it sound like none of it had ever happened in the first place. She was talking to me as if I had been taking too many crazy pills and having too many outlandish dreams. She was talking down to me, as usual.

"Are you sick in the head, Kyon? I don't get what you're doing with showing this sudden affection for your Brigade Chief." Haruhi told me in a scolding tone. Her words were biting enough, and she was speaking down to me as if I was a dog who had disobeyed its master.

I thought of something to say while I still had my head on the desk; but nothing would come out. Besides; Haruhi sounded as if she wanted to talk for awhile. She was more than content with lecturing me in the middle of the classroom, with everyone watching. And we still had a good amount of time before the school day actually started.

"I mean, I can certainly understand. A low-ranked member like you could only help but look up to me, and it was only a matter of time until you probably fell for my brilliant leadership. It's either that, or you're just doing all this as an attempt to suck up to me."

It's always been in Haruhi's nature to give herself more credit than she deserves. I expected her to refer me as an inferior. I just wasn't able to believe the fact that she had forgotten all the things that had transpired between us in the last few weeks.

This all means only one thing. It means that Asakura-san wasn't lying to me, and whether I choose to believe it or not; the universe is already beginning to dissemble. It's a slow process; but I can guess it starts with the smaller details like memories; until it eventually reaches the basis of everything. Once that happens; I assume that what we consider reality will all just abruptly end. Like a film suddenly cut short in a movie theater.

After listening to her lecturing; I found the inner strength to look up and Haruhi, who hadn't changed her facial expression this entire time. She was apparently either confused or awestruck by the fact I had so suddenly taken her by the hand. It wasn't even that big a deal; considering the fact that she had dragged me along in the same way more times than I can remember. Haruhi spoke again; this time with her arms crossed, and a hint of vanity and pride in her voice.

"But I'm sorry to say that I'm not interested. You're just an ordinary human; and I vowed that I would only associate with only time travelers, aliens and espers. Nothing less fits my qualifications."

I sighed deeply, mostly because I was slightly bothered by the way Haruhi was talking. I was getting close to the point where I might say Suzumiya-san had begun to change in these last few weeks. But it seemed like the cup had been dashed from my lips before I could even get the tiniest sip.

"You're lying." I commented; my tone bland and uninterested.

"What!?!"

If I had snickered at the sound of Haruhi's protest, the ending outcome would probably be a punch in the face. I already had seen what Suzumiya-san could do when it came to physical force. I hoped in my heart that when the point in time came that she used it on me; it was the kind that most guys enjoy.

And if you don't get that awful joke; I suggest going out and living a little, if you already haven't been doing so already.

"How dare you accuse me of lying! You've got no right to say that kind of stuff to your superior! That's treason, Kyon! Treason!" Suzumiya-san shouted at me, pointing her usual accusing finger at the same time. I had mostly ignored the stares of my classmates at this point.

Wouldn't they all be used to this by now? It's not like Haruhi's usual demeanor is anything new to them.

"I know what you were dreaming about too. I didn't really know you liked it rough, Suzumiya-san."

I will tell you now that the above phrase was among one of the dumbest and idiotic things I have ever had the notion to say. I know why I said it; but I wasn't smart enough to think of the consequences of saying it. And they were obviously painful consequences.

Almost immediately did Suzumiya-san's face twist into anger that I could barley describe with words. There was a very hot blush on her cheeks; and it gave me the impression that this might be the expression she would be wearing if I had done something as stupid as walking in on her showering or something equally private.

I had no time to react when she decided to grab hold of me. All I could feel was someone forcibly grabbing my arm, and then twisting it so it was locked behind my back. Haruhi's grip was extremely powerful for her gender, and I had to do everything in my might to stop myself from squealing like a little girl. The hold she had me in was every painful. It was almost as painful as the embarrassment; because I knew the whole class was watching this.

"WHO TOLD YOU ABOUT THOSE DREAMS!?!?" Haruhi screamed into my ear to the point where I would be using hearing aids in the near future. I could imagine her teeth already pointed and sharp, and her normally amber eyes now having become the color of fiery magma.

"It was a….wild guess?" I replied weakly, while I could see the rest of the class just watching us like we were the main event in a circus. Our homeroom teacher couldn't even move, and I assumed that was because Suzumiya-san exuded a certain petrifying fear when she got this angry.

Suzumiya-san threw me down into my desk, having let me out of her vicious hold. I checked my arm to see if it was broken; and she merely had her arms crossed in obvious disapproval. She glared at me with more intensity that I could describe. My classmates seemed to almost be enjoying the show. And this show in particular involved me being put into Haruhi's submission.

I've already had more than enough bad dreams about that stuff. The one where she liked whips and leather was the scariest. I really don't' need that in real life too. I've got enough anxiety to begin with.

"You better stop saying stupid things, Kyon. I won't be so easy on you next time."

You call that easy? I can only imagine what hard is. No. I think I'd rather not imagine it at all. It'll give me a headache.

It's safe to say that Suzumiya-san lost the urge to talk to me after that. She had managed to silence everyone with her loud screaming, which really wasn't much of a surprise.

And my school day just started as usual.

Classes weren't so boring today, as I found the will to stay awake throughout most of them. I honestly don't know if this is because of Suzumiya-san having screamed in my ear, or perhaps it was because I was getting the feeling that I didn't really want to be going to the clubroom after school.

But I never have much control over what happens to me; and I found myself already on my way to the clubroom. It must be fate that has decided this become the one place I must always commute to after my classes end. It reminds me of the myth of Sisyphus again. Just like I was to always continue on my daily morning hikes; I would continue to go to the clubroom after school. But I guess it was better than having to roll a boulder up a hill for all of eternity.

I was greeted by the usual faces this time around. No one was missing. I was almost expecting someone to not be present this time around. Koizumi was sitting in the middle table as usual, but he looked like he was deep in thought, and he didn't greet me like usual. Nagato-san was reading another one of her novels, and Mikuru was in the process of brewing her tea.

I wasn't surprised to see that Suzumiya-san was already using the clubroom computer as amusement for whatever boredom she was experiencing. If I had to bet money on the fact that she almost always was doing something useless on it; then I would be swimming in yen by now.

The sight of Yuki Nagato could not help but spark sudden memories in my head. Images of the blue-haired Ryoko Asakura already penetrated my thoughts, and I found myself speedily walking towards where she was sitting.

I don't really know what expression I was wearing on my face; but I could see that Haruhi gave me a momentary glare as I approached Nagato-san. Even though my footsteps were clear and obviously towards the silent alien; she still took no time to look up from her novel and acknowledge me.

"Nagato-san." I said quickly; ignoring the fact that she still continued to read her novel, Yuki's eyes didn't even make the slightest hint of movement, and if I didn't really know better; I might have said she doesn't even realize I'm here. Either that; or she was just ignoring me.

I went down low; speaking directly to Yuki at a face to face level. I tried my best to make my voice sound as serious and genuine as I could possibly muster. It was no easy task, especially since I had nearly had my ears blown out not too long ago. I could still hear a faint ringing that sounded like Suzumiya-san's voice.

But I still managed to say what I needed to say.

"Ryoko Asakura rebuilt herself. She's come back to finish what she started. Everything we know is at risk. You have to tell me what you know about all of this, Nagato-san!"

I'll admit something, and that is the fact that I sounded very cheesy when I said those words. If my life was a big story; then I'd have to say that the author is a bad writer, and he needs to go out and get himself a life; because he's obviously wasting it away with his awful dialogue.

But this was not the case, as the words coming out of my mouth were clearly my own. It took a few seconds for Yuki to even look up from her novel and acknowledge me speaking, and even longer before she even began to speak herself.

But the way she was speaking wasn't normal for her. Her voice was monotone; but there was hint of annoyance in it. She sounded like she was actually bothered by the fact I was taking her attention away from her reading. In fact; she talked to me like I was some sort of insane asylum escapee.

"I do not believe I have read that novel. If it is possible; I would like to be left be."

After saying that; Nagato-san blinked once, before mechanically turning back to her book. I was left speechless. I'm guessing the expression on my face was worthy enough to be laughed at.

This is a joke! This is all a really big joke! Yuki has developed a sense of humor; and she's playing a mean practical joke on me. It'll take a few seconds for her to realize that I've registered it, and then she'll turn around and explain how she thought it was amusing. She'll start talking like usual in no time!

But nothing like this happened. I should no better than to think lying to oneself will cause such things. Yuki simply continued to read, and I could have sworn that my jaw had dropped to the floor like it does in cartoons. At least it would have if human anatomy allowed such a thing.

"Kyon! Stop looking so dumb and do something useful!" Haruhi scolded me from across the room, her voice loud because she had large, bulky headphones on. It was true to say that if she wasn't currently using the clubroom computer, I would have normally listened and checked up on the webpage or something.

But she was doing whatever useless thing she was doing, so that wasn't really possible. Besides; I had a feeling Haruhi almost didn't want to be disturbed right now.

I sighed. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

Nagato-san had clearly forgotten quite a lot of important information. No; she was just turning human! She was losing her status as a humanoid interface, and becoming an actual, living, breathing human being. I wouldn't be complaining if this was a good thing!

What was next? I didn't even have to ask at this point. If Haruhi was truly losing her power as God; then it would be expected that Mikuru wasn't much a time traveler anymore, and Itsuki didn't have esper abilities like usual. They were probably both normal, rational high school students now.

Exactly what was I complaining about? Isn't this all the exact life I had wished for some time ago? Isn't this what I had been longing for since the day I had met Suzumiya-san?

It was, but it isn't anymore. I don't want a boring life anymore!

I can't let this all slide by. I have to make sure they've really forgotten. I need to see what Koizumi knows.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Koizumi actually remembers something. A hint of his power, a philosophical anecdote; anything. Heck; I think I could even be in the mood for one of his long-winded speeches again. His smile would be a nice addition too.

Luckily; Suzumiya-san had decided to put on those headphones on to hear whatever she was watching on the computer. Come to think of it; what the hell was she watching anyway? And why did she need the headphones for it? Perhaps this was her private time with the computer, and I could easily expect a punch to the face if I decided to sneak a peek at the screen.

I think I've had my fair share of injuries today. I'm in more of a mood to speak with Koizumi anyway. I'm in the mood to be reassured that I'm not surrounded by normal people!

And starting a conversation with Koizumi is just what I did after I sat down in front of him. I was the one who started the conversation with him for once. Never in a million years did I imagine I would so willingly wanted to talk to him like this. In fact; I was almost disappointed by the fact that he wasn't smiling at me.

"Alright, Koizumi. Tell me what the hell is going on, and how I can stop it. I know you have information of some sort." I asked with the seriousness of a court judge.

It was obvious that I sounded like I was almost interrogating Itsuki Koizumi. My tone of voice and manner of speaking were far from carefree. I was not necessarily in a good mood either, probably due to the various difficulties and mishaps I had already gone through today. From having to sprint my usual hike to school, to my arm being nearly broken by Haruhi; I definitely wasn't Mr. Happy-Go-Lucky today.

"What are you talking about?" Itsuki replied, with a tone of confusion and utter disbelief that I had never heard him sound like before. There was no plastic smile on his face. Instead; he wore a look that might allude to him believing I was just some crazy outcast who had nothing better else to do than to bother other people with his ramblings. I'll admit that I sounded very much like Suzumiya-san right now.

"You're joking, right? I'm guessing if I said you have esper abilities; you'll think I'm crazy?" I commented, raising an eyebrow. It wasn't taking much to realize that Koizumi had absolutely no idea what I was talking about at all.

"This sounds you're trying to play a joke on me. You almost had me fooled back there."

Itsuki actually gave me the same plastic smile that I was usually expecting from him, but it wasn't making me feel better like I thought it would. In fact; I was beginning to feel progressively worse with each passing moment.

"Have you been playing a lot of games lately, Kyon-kun?" Mikuru said from beside me, as she served us her usually magnificent tea. The only problem was that the aroma wasn't really warming my heart like usual. The fact that Asahina-san was already labeling me as a crazy was just making my mood drop deeper.

"No." I replied blatantly, not even taking the time to drink the tea that was just served to me. I watched Koizumi already starting to drink it, and he probably was savoring every last drop of the hot liquid. He certainly looked as if he was enjoying himself. And that was not helping my mood at all.

So this was it then. Everyone had forgotten all the important things that made them special. Nagato-san wasn't an alien anymore. Koizumi had lost his esper abilities, along with all that knowledge of his. I could easily tell that Mikuru-chan wasn't classified as a time traveler anymore; because her question to me about why I was asking Itsuki if he was an esper was more innocent than usual. I wasn't even going to bother asking her if she knew anything anyway. As sweet as Asahina-san is, asking her something like that would just be waste of time.

What's the point to even trying to fix all this?

Asakura was right. There's nothing left for me to do to stop a forthcoming destruction. If all the extraordinary people around me have lost all the things that make them extraordinary; then that just leaves me surrounded by normal people.

Except for Suzumiya-san, of course. If we're all still here; then that must mean she still has an ounce of her god-like power left.

Is there even hope anymore? What am I supposed to do to convince Haruhi that there's still irrationality, insanity and ridiculousness in this world?

The root of this problem lies in Haruhi losing her faith in all the things she has searched far and wide for. All of the time travelers, espers, sliders and aliens. She used to be surrounded by them; and now she's not anymore. She's not surrounded by them because she's starting to believe in them less and less.

But Koizumi said she's got some rationality! Why the hell is all this happening if she can actually think rationally?

I should just face the facts. There's no proof to convince her. All of the proof went away when she started losing her faith in the strange and bizarre.

Ugh, I'm starting to wonder why I joined this ridiculous club in the first place. Haruhi is the same bossy person I've known since the day I've met her! Nothing about her is a trait that would be considered ideal. I still can't help find her to be too eccentric for my tastes. She's still too crazy of a girl for me! Why do I still hang around her then? Taniguchi would say something along the lines of me being attracted to her. But that's not even true!

I'm forgetting so much lately. If this goes on; I'll forget what Asakura told me yesterday. I can only hope I don't forget what kind of power Suzumiya-san holds before it's too late.

If that happens; we're all going to end up being screwed over. And I'd like to live in this universe just a little bit longer. I really don't think that's an unreasonable thing to ask.


	10. Chapter 10

**Well here's the next part all. I just would like to make something clear to you guys. I have not read past the first novel; so I really don't know much about the story arc when it comes to the novels. I plan to read them all; of course, but this story(and any more sequels, if I get that bold) are going to stem off the anime. I did recently watch the new episode a few days ago, so I couldn't help but reference that.**

**So if things seem similiar; I had no idea. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter!**

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A dire situation was clearly in front of me.

Haruhi Suzumiya had begun to slowly lose her power as God. Itsuki Koizumi was no longer an esper, and Yuki Nagato had turned from a humanoid interface to a human being. I could easily tell that Mikuru Asahina had probably lost all her memories of time travel and whatever organization she worked for. The entire SOS Brigade was experiencing group amnesia.

I'm part of this as well, unfortunately. I know I've been losing memories too. I've probably forgotten so many important things. The problem with this amnesia is that you can't remember what you forgot. If everything were that easy, then I might have done something as crazy as wanting to be Suzumiya-san's boyfriend or something.

That's a good one, even though it's not really funny. I don't know what would ever push me to want something as outlandish as going out with Haruhi Suzumiya. I can only imagine that a relationship with her would end up being the same as the relationship I have with her now. She would still be demanding, bossy and stubborn as always. She would just be saying things that sound like….

"Kiss me already, Kyon! Do it now, you idiot!"

That doesn't sound really appealing if you ask me. But I can't help but wonder something. All of this feels so…..familiar.

Ugh. I think it's just all stress from this entire situation. I'm surprised I can keep myself so level-headed even when the whole universe is on the verge of ending. Perhaps I should give myself a little more credit. God knows no one else gives me enough credit.

"You're looking sick, Kyon-kun."

I looked up to see that Mikuru-chan was now beside me, and her sweet voice had broken my train of thought. She held a tray in her petite hands, with three cups of steaming green tea sitting on it. Her expression was genuine concern as always, and she blinked her cute orange eyes to me.

Now there's someone I could see myself with. The sweet, shy Mikuru-chan. She wouldn't be so brash to force me into such things as Suzumiya-san does. I could imagine kissing her. I wonder if she wears some sort of flavored chap-

"Stop fantasizing, you idiot!" a voice screamed behind me; cutting off my sudden daydreams. I felt a hand slam across the back of my head with a force that would be enough to break a cinderblock. It not only hurt like hell, but it nearly startled Mikuru-chan and almost caused her to spill those hot cups of tea all over me.

When did Haruhi suddenly start knowing my thoughts? I don't see what gives Suzumiya-san the right to suddenly backhand me because I got lost in a daydream. Is she jealous of Mikuru-chan stealing my attention or something?

"What the hell was that for?" I said in an annoyed and bothered tone; turning around as I rubbed the back of my head. It felt like someone had just stuck a jackhammer there for a few seconds. My head was throbbing like crazy. Haruhi should play tennis or something with that backhand of hers.

"You're thinking stuff that's way out of your league, Kyon. Mikuru-chan is untouchable to everyone except me!" Suzumiya-san replied, taking no time to get up right behind Asahina-san. She looked like a classic stalker in a way, mostly because of the mischievous, almost perverted expression she was wearing as she got behind the red-haired girl. Mikuru's face was already in panic, and I watched as Suzumiya-san simply took both of Mikuru's breasts in her hands as if they were her personal property.

"You see? Only the Brigade Chief can do this stuff to the mascot!" Haruhi explained to me as she continued to grope Mikuru. I could hear Asahina-san crying out in protest, her face turning redder by the second, while her eyes were beginning to brim with tiny tears of embarrassment.

"You ever thought of the fact that you could be charged with sexual harassment yourself, Haruhi?" I asked, but Suzumiya-san just ignored me. I had the notion to possibly say something else to Suzumiya-san, but my thought process was interrupted when I heard the clattering of tea cups as Mikuru finally lost her grip on the tray. I guess she couldn't last being groped for so long.

The cups came down like an avalanche of fine china, except that they were filled to the brim with still-hot tea. I didn't have much time to react when I felt the greenish liquid splash all over my thigh.

It takes a lot to hold in a scream of pain. It's like your throat is struggling to let out a massive bubble of air, and you have to do everything in your power to hold it back. I'd like to see you try not crying like a little girl when you get hot tea nearly spilled all over your groin! It's not as easy as it looks!

Nevertheless; Haruhi failed to notice that I could have possibly lost the ability to create offspring. Not that I thought she would care anyway.

Finally; Suzumiya-san let go of the severely embarrassed Mikuru-chan, as she was obviously bored with her breasts already. Sometimes I wonder why I don't enjoy watching this stuff happen daily. I'm sure someone like that idiot Taniguchi would be egging Suzumiya-san on to just abuse Asahina-san more.

Haruhi's expression was one that might make someone think she had incredible confidence in herself. Most of the time; she would make it look that way. I've always known that Suzumiya-san believes that everything she says is right, and it becomes useless to even try and reason with her most of the time.

You know; I can't help but feel like I'm experiencing déjà vu right now. This all seems so familiar, even though I can't actually put my finger on it.

Wait! I almost forgot! The universe is going to end if I don't do something to convince Haruhi that she has a reason to still believe in the strange and bizarre! I must act now! I am the only thing that stands between universal destruction; because Haruhi is losing her belief in time travelers, espers and aliens!

What the hell? This all sounds like it's already happened! Why does this amnesia have to happen now?!?

I couldn't help but look back towards Haruhi, who was occupied with watching whatever was occurring outside the window. She seemed genuinely bored now that she was no longer playing with Mikuru-chan's body, as sick as that sounds. This already was looking like another case of her melancholy.

What could I do about this?

Well; there was but only one thing to do. Without Nagato being an alien, I had no one to explain everything to me. The same goes for the fact that Itsuki is no longer an esper. He has no long-winded speeches to give me. He's got no obscure theories to try and tell me. In essence; I am alone.

I didn't take much time to think when I decided to just grab Suzumiya-san by the hand. It wasn't necessarily a smart move, as I was almost expecting her to just turn around and slap me across the face like I was some creepy old rapist or something.

"Haruhi…we need to talk."

Making my voice sound dead serious was essential in getting Suzumiya-san's attention. Her gaze had already drifted to where I was holding her by the hand, and I bet my wallet that the rest of the clubroom was eagerly watching this all unfold, save Nagato-san.

If I didn't know any better; I would say Haruhi was blushing when I began to drag her towards the hallway outside of the clubroom. I had narrowed my eyes and truly only looked back at her once, but I couldn't help but notice that there was in fact a red tinge on her cheeks. I didn't even know Suzumiya-san could blush at all.

When were both in the hallway, I forcefully shut the door behind us. It was enough hours after school by now that the hallways would be completely empty. I don't know who would want to voluntarily stay after school so long if they didn't have a club or sport to stay for. I can expect only someone like Taniguchi to do something like that.

In all the time that I spent pulling Haruhi out into the hallway, where we could talk alone; I noticed that she did not struggle against me. Actually…she didn't even say a single word. I imagined that Suzumiya-san didn't like being brought anywhere against her will, even if it was as little of a distance as being outside of the clubroom.

When the door was closed, Haruhi decided to lean up against the wall; crossing her arms and wearing an expression of indifference. I rubbed the back of my head nervously, mostly because I wondered if Itsuki was making fun of me while I wasn't there. I'm just being really paranoid right now, aren't I?

"So what is it?" Haruhi asked me as she continued to lean against the wall, and her voice sounded impatient and annoyed. I saw that her gaze was not towards me at all. Instead; she found anything else but me to be a more interesting thing to look at. Be it nearby lockers, a garbage can, or the window; anything else seemed better than looking at me. I spoke nevertheless, holding back a sigh.

"I've got something to tell you. Something important."

Alright! I am not going crazy! I said that before! I don't know when, and I don't know why; but I know that I said that phrase sometime in the past. There's too much of that déjà vu feeling to deny that I did not say that. It may sound weird, but I just can't shrug this damn feeling off.

Arrgh! What the hell am I doing? Every time my thoughts start bothering me like this; I end up having trouble with telling Suzumiya-san exactly what I'm going to say. I'm putting this off too long. I have to say it. I have to say it now, or the universe could end!

"Haruhi, I-"

"Hold that thought!" Suzumiya-san interjected; a bored look on her face. She walked towards me with a hidden grace, her hands behind her back. I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at this. Sudden interruptions were annoying when I was trying to tell Haruhi something that could literally decided the fate of the universe.

"I have to say, Kyon; this is already starting to sound like a lousy confession." Haruhi said, her voice brimming with pride and vanity. Suzumiya-san made it sound like this happened to her on a daily basis, and that whatever I had to say, be it a confession or not, wasn't important at all.

But to think that I was going to confess to her? She already makes it clear that it's hard enough to even want to be around her in the first place, let alone confess. I'm trying to tell her the one thing that'll make her believe in her mysterious beings again, and all she can think about is me and my tactics at hitting on her?

Even when she has nothing strange to believe in; it seems that Haruhi can do nothing less but continue to be her strange self.

"I'm not going to confess to you. There are more important things that I have to say."

If I said this to any other girl, it might have ended up causing the said girl to start bawling in tears. I basically told Suzumiya-san off; mostly because I was more than annoyed with her pompous attitude. She might be beautiful and all, but even she doesn't have to make it sound like that every guy wants her so much more than they all want Mikuru-chan. And it makes me wonder why I she would assume that I would be one of the people who might have the audacity to confess to her.

Again; this feels oddly familiar….

Suzumiya-san looked confused now, as if I had donned a wig and starting dancing around like a maniac. I don't know if she was feeling rejected or surprised; but I really didn't care. Getting out the things I had to say was what was most important to me. Because I was already having a feeling that meant I might just forget it all soon enough.

"Then what did you drag me out here for, Kyon? What's so important?"

I sighed. Haruhi sounded impatient and bossy as usual. I would never expect such things to change. I can only imagine that she must have gotten everything she wanted as a little kid.

"I'm John Smith."

The words came out clear and concise, but Suzumiya-san's expression made it seem like I had mumbled them while wearing a muzzle. I saw a surprised look break out on her face, and when she spoke, her tone alluded to the fact she was completely and utterly confused.

"What?"

I sighed. I should have expected saying something to Suzumiya-san more than once to get it through her head. Her skull must be thick enough to stop a bullet from going through. How the hell does she get such higher marks than me again?

"I said…I'm John Smith."

The second time I said it made Haruhi put her finger on her bottom lip, and I could see that she was now in thought. I don't know what she was really thinking, but I can imagine it had something to do with the fact that for me to be John Smith, I would have had to somehow time traveled to when middle-school age Haruhi had first trespassed onto North High.

Suzumiya-san blinked a few times, obviously because she was trying to process the information I was giving to her. Part of me wondered if she really even remembered who John Smith even was, and part of me knew that she would probably never forget him. In essence, I had given Haruhi the idea to go to North High when she would come of age, because I had mentioned it to be a hotspot of strange happenings. I had also told her that I partially agreed with her beliefs in such things as time travelers, aliens, sliders and espers.

I kissed-up enough to Suzumiya-san to make her come to this school in the first place. And now I was telling her the truth. I was telling her that I was the root of her coming here. I was the one who had agreed with her middle school self those years ago.

"That's not possible." Suzumiya-said nonchalantly; breaking the silence that had momentarily emerged between us. I looked back at her, wondering why she couldn't just believe it like she easily had believed in aliens.

She really is losing her faith. This is serious. We really are all going to disappear…

"That's not possible, Kyon; because then you would be a time traveler. I don't see you filling such a role. You're too incapable to be a time traveler. Someone like you would mess with the technology and get himself transported two hundred million years in the past or something." Haruhi told me, making it sound like she was scolding me for something that I had yet to do.

It's great how she just has a need to play down on not only my intelligence, but my capability as well. If anything, she's the incapable one. She's the one who's losing her capability as God; and all I'm trying to do is restore her faith so she can regain that capability, because everyone else is practically useless now that they've nearly lost all the things that had previously made them special.

"I'm not going to deny the fact that you were the one who forced me to mark out those symbols out of chalk. And I was the one who gave you the idea of going to North High in the first place." I said to Haruhi, trying to make myself sound as dead serious as she usually sounds.

I should have just been this direct with Suzumiya-san awhile ago. From the emerging expression on her face; I could tell that either she was having trouble believing me, or hopefully she was having trouble believing that she might actually be wrong about something.

"That wouldn't make sense. You must've not grown much since middle-school, Kyon. And you probably stole a North High uniform." Suzumiya-san replied. She gave me a glare that made me almost feel like I was lying to myself. The effect she has on people can be profound at times.

But what the hell?!? Out of all the times Haruhi needs to find a rational explanation for an irrational happening; it just has to be when I'm trying to restore her faith. She can't just shut up and listen to someone else for once. Because I know if she was telling me something like this; she'd make it damn clear that it was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But somehow I don't have enough creditability to make her think that I had actually time traveled. At least in her eyes I didn't.

"Look, Kyon; this is a really lame attempt in hiding a confession. If you're going to confess; just do it. I hate guys who can't take responsibility for what they say. If you're really interested in me, then you might as well just spit it out! Then I can just tell what I think of it."

Confession? I already said that I wasn't confessing! What kind of self-deluded mind does Suzumiya-san have? Why does she keep mentioning this like she wants it? Where is she getting all this from?

And why does this all feel so familiar?!? Damn this amnesia!!!!

I sighed. There was obviously no point in talking with Suzumiya-san any longer.

"I'm just going home. You can't be reasoned with." I said to her, my voice defeated. I could only guess what the expression on her face was, but I really didn't care. Grabbing my bag from inside the clubroom, I didn't even take the time to say goodbye to the rest of the SOS Brigade. I brushed past Haruhi, who looked as if she might have actually had something to say to me. Granted it might be some insult.

She just couldn't listen, could she? Even when I put proof right in her face; she still can't believe it.

I wasn't going to stick around and try to continue this doomed attempt at saving the universe. Haruhi's incapability to listen to anything I had to say was a major roadblock. Everything was just going to end because of Suzumiya-san's inability to be a follower instead of a leader. She's just too stubborn.

I wouldn't be surprised if I had feelings for the girl locked inside my psyche. The things that make her what she is could easily attract me. I say to myself that I don't like Suzumiya-san. I say that she's bossy, arrogant, pushy, mean, stubborn and certainly eccentric. But there's always that side of her…I just can't put my finger on.

I can't deny this. Something was there. This amnesia is blocking something important. There was something involving me and Haruhi….but I really can't remember it.

I shook my head at the fact. The sun had begun to set outside; casting an orange and yellow glow across the entire city. I've been noticing a lot of sunsets lately. I took a look back at the building that was North High, wondering exactly what Suzumiya-san was thinking. If we do get through all this, I'll consider asking Koizumi if he could read Haruhi's mind or something. I'd like to see more of what goes on in that head of hers.

"You really are trying to convince her, aren't you?" a voice said from behind me, causing me to suddenly pivot like a globe rotating on its axis. I was suddenly face to face with Ryoko Asakura.

Her blue eyes shimmered, and the distance between us was every small. This was already very creepy, to say the least. She had her hands behind her back, and a smile on her face as the wind slightly caught onto her blue hair. It waved in the breeze, and when it stopped waving, Asakura-san spoke to me directly.

"I would stop while you're ahead. You should accept the end. It's going to happen whether you like it or not."

Her voice was like a sweet candy, but something in it yelled out rat poison. I had the urge to back away, but my legs were frozen solid. I felt like a paper clip attached to an unyielding magnet.

"I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to let everything just end so you can observe it all." I replied, trying to instill a sense of courage in my voice. It was a miserable failure however, because I knew I sounded very nervous.

Asakura-san smiled at me, suddenly putting one of her delicate hands on my shoulder. She moved closer to me, as if she was catching me in an embrace. Our faces were very close, and I was already beginning to feel uncomfortable.

Without warning, Ryoko suddenly started caressing my neck with one of her slender fingers. It was very awkward, especially because of how close she was to me. I felt her finger trace along my skin, and every touch was nearly spine-tingling.

"I would rather not have to kill you." She said to me, and I felt something metallic begin to slide on my skin. In an instant, her finger had become a sharp blade that glistened from the sunlight. The anxiety of feeling it so close to such a vital body part was nearly unbearable. I was already waiting for her to just make that one slice and end it all. All it took was one motion; and I'd be history.

But something else caught her attention instead. She was still smiling when she looked behind me. I turned; not realizing how close we still were, and the fact that we looked like we were both in each other's embrace.

Haruhi Suzumiya was standing a few feet away, her face in shock by what she was seeing in front of her. She had dropped her bag, and her eyes looked as if they were refusing to blink. I didn't know what I could say in this situation. There was obviously lovely girl was in my arms, and Haruhi looked like she wasn't too happy about it.

I know I didn't imagine her starting to run off. Images of tears streaming down her face were as real to me as the clothes on my back. Haruhi was running away from us like a hurt child.

What else could I do besides follow her? Nothing else, of course.

"Haruhi! Wait up!" I said in an exasperated voice, my mind focusing on catching the emotionally hurt Suzumiya-san. I put all the power I could into my legs, and they carried me as fast as they could. I didn't know why I really wanted to make Haruhi feel better, but I naturally assumed that it was to prevent universal destruction. I knew that she could be ending everything any second now. If I didn't at least say something to calm her down; I would just be assuring the end.

"You should just give up. There's not much time left." Asakura-san said from behind me as I continued to run, though I could faintly hear it. I imagine she had a smile on her face. One far worse than anything Itsuki could come up with.

Haruhi continued to run; not even taking the time to look back and see that I was following her.

What did I do wrong? Was Suzumiya-san truly jealous? I still don't get the way she works. I still don't know what's really going on inside that head of hers.

And I know I'm still forgetting things! Damn it! Even telling her I was John Smith didn't get her to believe in strange stuff again!

Why does this all seem so familiar!?! I hate this amnesia! And I hate this damn déjà vu!


	11. Chapter 11

**I love writing this stuff so much. That's one of the reasons I like to update so fast. That; and because I actually have willing readers for once. Enjoy this chapter, everyone!**

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It's times like these where I notice exactly how athletic Haruhi Suzumiya really is.

She runs ridiculously fast! I didn't think I'd have to be running a marathon just to keep up with her!

It's all for the greater good, though. If I decided to be lazy and just let Suzumiya-san run off, then I would be granting passage to absolute destruction. Haruhi seemed hurt, jealous or angry by the fact that she saw me in what looked like an embrace with Ryoko Asakura. I'm still wondering why Suzumiya-san isn't shocked from seeing Asakura-san again. When Asakura-san had first disappeared, Haruhi had dragged me along in her search for the blue-haired alien after Nagato-san had caused her to "move to Canada". Curiosity was always one of Haruhi's prime personality traits, but she didn't even show the slightest hint of it when she first caught a glimpse of Ryoko.

Instead; she went off running like a scared child, and I can only imagine that she was not happy with what she had seen. In fact, I was imagining Haruhi nearly crying her eyes out. I don't know why, but something was making me feel like I had almost betrayed Suzumiya-san.

Again, this is probably a product of the combined amnesia and extreme déjà vu.

And so I am currently running after Haruhi, who has the tenacity and speed equal to an African gazelle. It's amazing how fast she can run. I'm literally about twenty feet behind her. She probably can run even faster than this! It's really starting to piss me off!

Back on topic, I can't seem to catch Haruhi! My feet are running with the power of a locomotive, but they just can't match Suzumiya-san's stronger and more in shape legs. I mean; just look at them! Their slender, curvy and she's got such flawless skin on them…

And I'm going way off topic again! Back to chasing Haruhi!

She's turned a corner now. The streets never seem to end in this city, and the fact that nighttime has come is making me afraid that I'll fall and land on my face. At the rate I'm running, it's very likely.

But I have to say that I'm glad I can't see anyone on the streets tonight. Wait. That's not good! When did the sky turn so gray?

Damn. It seems that in chasing Haruhi Suzumiya; I have found myself descending into the dreaded closed space. This is less than favorable.

Normally, I might have thought about just stopping and trying to find a way out. In any other situation, I would have given up and let Haruhi just go. But something was holding me to her. To say the least, something was attracting me to her. It wasn't that I had some inner feelings for her, was it?

No, that can't be it. It's just preposterous to think that I could ever feel that way about Suzumiya-san. She's beautiful and smart, but she's also a weirdo, as well as an overly bossy girl. What kind of guy would be attracted to that?

Nevertheless, Haruhi continues to remain ahead of me, and I can already feel my legs tiring. The lactic acid buildup is beginning to become unbearable, mostly because I am not used to such strenuous running as I am currently involved in. Suzumiya-san's brown hair bounces behind her as she sprints, and I watch to see her turn her head around in mid-run.

The look on her eyes is none other than hurt. In fact, it looked as if I had done something equal to breaking her heart. But I never felt that way about her in the first place, so there wouldn't be any heart to break, would there?

Gah, these thoughts are confusing. I just want to catch Suzmiya-san already and tell her that I'm s-

Wait! Are my eyes fooling me? No! Suzumiya-san has just tripped on the sidewalk only a few feet in front of me. My legs are in excruciating pain, but I think I can catch her. Yes! She's not getting up that easily! Is she hurt? Gah, I can't let her just run off again!

"Haruhi!" I exclaimed as I knelt beside the fallen Suzumiya-san, who seemed to just try and get up faster the closer I got. This was stupid in so many ways, but I took no time in grabbing Haruhi by the arm, just so I could make sure she wouldn't just run off.

"Get your hands off me, Kyon!" she shouted at me in anger, taking no time to literally punch me hard in the stomach. I reeled over in obvious pain, and Suzumiya-san quickly brushed herself off as she stood up, towering above my hurt form.

"Wait! Don't just leave again!" I protested to her as I looked up, one hand still clutching my slightly hurt stomach as I reached out for her. The sky really had turned gray around us, and there were no people in the streets at all. In fact, even the streetlights had gone completely out.

We were in a gray dreary world now. We were both in closed space.

"What's wrong with you!?!" Haruhi shouted down at me, her hands clenched into tight fists as she did so. Suzumiya-san's eyes were more dead serious than usual, but I could tell she was making an attempt to hold back tears.

"Me? I didn't do anything! You're the one who was running away from me!"

In any situation; Suzumiya-san always believes herself to be right, no matter what odds are against her. Even if the entire universe was to collapse if she did not admit herself to be wrong, she still would not do so. And the scary part is; that may very well happen soon enough.

"You're sleazy, Kyon! I can't believe you can just put yourself all over a girl like that! And I thought you had some decency!" Suzumiya-san said to me, shouting right in my face as I finally got the strength to stand up. Her voice was clearly filled with hurt. No matter how angry she tried to sound, I could easily tell she was sad.

"Haruhi….are you jealous?" I asked her, although nervously and in a low voice. This conversation wasn't turning out to be too much of a positive one, but it was at least keeping Haruhi from running off. That was certainly a good thing.

It seemed that Suzumiya-san had become befuddled by my question. She crossed her arms and put on a pouting mask, and it seemed like she was just trying to ignore what I asked her at first. Her eyes were looking everywhere except at me, just like they had when I tried to tell her I was John Smith back at school.

Finally, I heard Suzumiya-san say something in a low voice. It sounded like she was almost having trouble getting it out.

"I need you." She said as she narrowed her eyes and kept her arms tightly crossed. The expression on her face almost refused to change, but a red blush was showing on her cheeks. Haruhi had defied herself again by blushing.

She needs me? That doesn't mean…what it's supposed to mean; does it? Is Haruhi trying to say something to me? Wait a second…does Suzumiya-san…does she lo-

"You look stupid with that face, Kyon!" Haruhi exclaimed at me, breaking my train of thought. Apparently, she wasn't really content with letting me think for just a few seconds. She still refused to look at me directly, though; having gazed just about everywhere except at my face.

"Where are we, anyway?" Haruhi asked me, now looking at the sky, having let her arms fall to the side. The tension in her body was beginning to lessen, but the expression on her face wasn't changing much.

What was she so angry about? Is she infatuated with me or something?

Why does this all feel so goddamn familiar!?! I don't get it! Did this all happen before? What the hell is going on!?!

I sighed. It seemed like being direct with Haruhi was the only way to get her attention at this point. I shouldn't complain much about all this. At least I wasn't running like a dog trying to catch a speeding car. I was the dog and Haruhi was the car. What a surprise.

"What do you really think of me?" I asked her suddenly, with all the intention of sparking some sort of response out of her. I was sick of her pushing me around like she usually did. She was going to listen to me now!

"What? What kind of question is that?"

A typical Suzumiya-san response. At least; it's typical when it's something that Haruhi obviously doesn't want to answer. The tone in her voice easily signified that she was uncomfortable with answering such a question. But I wasn't going to let that deter me. She was going to answer this question whether she liked it or not! This amnesia has already caused enough problems, and I'm not just going to keep forgetting stuff so the universe can just end!

"Answer the question!"

I had to be pushy when I said that sentence. If I acted weak or unassertive right now, Haruhi would easily see through it, and I would end up getting absolutely nowhere with her.

This was yet another time where Haruhi looked as if she was in a state of pondering. Her face looked deep in a cute sort of thought process, and in any other situation, it might have even made me smile. But the fact that I wanted to anxiously know what she was going to say to this was severely deterring me from that.

"I think about you a lot. And not like a stupid Brigade member. It's those stupid feelings that all humans eventually get….I hate it." Haruhi said as she finally broke out of her thinking. The way she spoke clearly made it sound like she really did hate what she was admitting to me.

And what was what she was admitting to me? If I didn't know better; it sounded like Haruhi had a crush on me. Something is telling me that I shouldn't be really surprised though…

That's not it! This is familiar! The déjà vu is coming again, and it's becoming unbearable! Why does this all happen whenever Haruhi and I are getting this emotionally close? What the hell is the meaning of all of this?

It's quite lucky that I never speak out my internal thoughts, because I might look crazy to anyone else around me. Especially since I exclaim most things in the sanctity of my mind; a place where no one can penetrate. At least I hope no one can.

"So…you've got a crush on me? You actually think I'm cute or something?" I said to Haruhi, my voice at a more positive tone this time around. It was very strange, but something inside me liked all this.

Haruhi gave me a one word response, with all the indifference and annoyance she could muster in her voice as she struggled not to look at me.

"Sorta."

This is really something. Though it is quite familiar in ways I can't explain, I'm actually kind of fascinated that Haruhi Suzumiya has hidden feelings for me. I always thought that such things would never happen in a million years. Besides; she likes to treat me like a peon half the time. Why would she do that if she really likes me this much?

Wait, I should have just realized something already. This is Suzumiya-san I'm talking about. In no way is she like any other normal high school girl. She is anything but normal, in fact. In a world of sheer normalcy, she would definitely be the odd one out. But that's not so much the case, as she's obviously been catering this world for her eccentric needs for the last three years.

"That's…unexpected. But I guess I shouldn't complain. I never really get any good-looking girls to confess to me." I replied, purposefully adding the last part in a vain attempt to try and compliment Suzumiya-san. It was the least I could do right now.

Don't tell me I'm suddenly feeling something for this crazy girl? If I am….then I'm even more unreasonable than I previously thought.

Haruhi's expression was one of surprise, mostly because she probably didn't expect to be complimented by me. The blush came on her face again, and it's interesting to note that for a girl with such determination and stubbornness, she sure has trouble hiding her embarrassment.

I was getting ready to rejoice in Haruhi's sudden change of mood, but my hopes went crashing down when her mood exploded outward in a not-so-positive way.

"No! This is not a good thing! I hate it!"

There was heat already coming from Suzumiya-san. I was almost ready to back away when she fell to her knees, sprawled out on the sidewalk with angry tears streaming down her face. I had never seen Haruhi so sad. If she kept this up, I might just start crying too….

Get a hold of yourself, Kyon! You've got a universe to save!

Alright; that sounded really cheesy right there. Ugh; even my thoughts sound terrible sometimes.

"I don't want these stupid feelings! I don't want this boring world! I'm sick of it! I'm sick of everything!" Suzumiya-san exclaimed in through her tears. Her normally happy looking amber eyes had turned into eyes that showed obvious sadness and discontent. Suzumiya-san was very discontent right now. Only a true idiot would be unable to see that.

As I tried to get closer to Haruhi, I noticed a small droning sound by my ear. It started out low, but slowly began to get higher. I tried to ignore it, stepping closer to Suzumiya-san.

"I'm done! The SOS Brigade is over! I'm done with this stupidity!"

Haruhi's voice seemed to be getting louder by the second, as if she had vocal cords more suitable for an animal like a whale. I felt the force of her exclamation hit me like a gust of wind, but I did my best to hold my ground. I could tell that this wasn't turning out too good right now. The droning persisted to plague my eardrums, and I heard no other sounds around me besides it.

"Haruhi! You have to stop acting like this! You're going to mess a lot of things up!" I pleaded her as I tried moving closer to her fallen form, but every step felt like I was moving against a massive amount of gravity. The world was suddenly getting hard to move through, like air was made of tar.

"No! It's all useless! None of it matters anymore!"

When she said that phrase, I fell backward from a force emanating from her mouth. Whatever words she was letting come out had more power than even she realized. The changed gravity around me failed to subside even as I struggled to get up from the rough cement sidewalk. I looked towards Haruhi, who refused to calm down.

Right before my eyes, I began to witness what I assumed was the omniverse ending. It was as if I was in a room where the lights were slowly being dimmed. Everything was literally beginning to get blacker, as if night was washing over the entire world. There were no sounds except the mostly quiet sobbing coming from Haruhi. Either way; the darkness continued to envelop us, and I was beginning to lose sight of Suzumiya-san.

"Haruhi!" I shouted with truly genuine concern, my body pushing against the gravity as I reached out for Suzumiya-san. Every thought in my head was concerned at finding her in this darkness, and hugging her close to me. As close as I could get to her. I didn't even care if she punched me in the face afterwards.

I guess this is the time to admit that I probably felt more for her than I previously thought. I have a feeling that a lot of my déjà vu and amnesia has something to do with all of this as well. The droning was starting to get louder.

"It's over, Kyon. There's no point anymore."

I never heard her so defeated before. The darkness was threatening to encompass us completely, and the increasing droning sound was threatening to shatter my sanity. Still, I managed to finally push against the opposing gravity and grab Suzumiya-san by the hand. I could barely see her by now, but I moved close to her when I felt her delicate hand in mine. Close enough that we were now face to face, even though I couldn't really see her face.

"You have to get a hold of yourself! Where's the Brigade Chief I know? She wouldn't just give up like this! She wouldn't just be telling me that there was no point anymore! No: she would be going on about time travelers, aliens and espers. She would want to find as many as she possibly could in a single day. That's the Haruhi I know!"

It's safe to say that I sounded like I was coaching Suzumiya-san about something. But as I said these things, I suddenly noticed that a memory popped into my head. It came spontaneously and utterly, but as the blackness was almost completely over us, I had no choice but to say it to Suzumiya-san.

"You said that you weren't ever interested in normal humans. You commanded that anyone who was a time traveler, esper or alien would have to see you at once. You're still that same crazy girl, Haruhi. You're still the Brigade Chief that I know…and love."

The last part was unexpected, mostly because I didn't even intend to say it. In fact, I could have sworn that it just involuntarily came out. It felt like something from the past was deciding to show its face again. Something I still had amnesia about, of course.

I couldn't see Suzumiya-san's face, but something told me that I had said something meaningful. And as I said the last part of my sentence, everything just literally lit up again. I'm really not joking when I say it that way. One minute it was about to be complete darkness, and the next it turned back to the gray light that emanated from the closed space we were both still in.

Suzumiya-san sat in front of me, a look on her face that was in disbelief. That look was so familiar. The dread déjà vu had come once again.

But still; she was really beautiful right now. The tears had gone away, and it seemed like I was getting lost in Haruhi's amber eyes. They were a sight I was truly struggling to pull away from. I felt her beginning to move closer. Was I doing the same? I think I was.

But before either of us could move close enough to one another and before Haruhi could actually say anything, someone's voice cut off our touching reunion. That someone's voice was the same one I had heard only minutes ago.

"You just couldn't listen. You just had to ruin everything!"

It was surely none other than Asakura-san. I turned to look behind me, and I could see she was already striding towards the both of us, her face covered with a mask of unhappiness. She wasn't angry, but she certainly wasn't smiling. Ryoko's long blue hair waved behind her as she approached us.

Haruhi stood by me, holding onto my arm in worry. I was slightly enjoying it, but I was clearly more worried about the displeased human interface coming towards us.

"Isn't that Asakura-san? I thought she went away to Canada! I knew it was a lie!" Suzumiya-san said beside me, her voice showing the determination and gusto that she usually always had. She really changes her mood quickly.

It's great she's in a possibly good mindset and all; but she doesn't really understand the situation. If we just stand here; Ryoko Asakura is just going to kill us both. Or she's just going to kill me. I'd actually like to live…

Haruhi doesn't seem to understand all of this. She never understands. I couldn't help but sigh at the new problem in front of me, noting something important in the back of my mind. Even in the face of death, the usual workings of Haruhi Suzumiya never cease to show themselves. Why am I not surprised?

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**Oooo...another little cliffhanger. Don't worry. The next one will come sooner than you think. You're just gonna have to wait. :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Couldn't keep anyone waiting long. This is the chapter you've probably all been waiting for. I've made it as intense as I possibly could. Hope you enjoy it! And I ****hope I don't have too many grammar mistakes on it...**

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It's safe to say that there are millions of things going through my head right now. Worry, fear and grief are only some of the emotions surging through my mind. I guess I'm feeling some relief as well. Even as Ryoko Asakura is angrily striding towards me and Suzumiya-san, I can't help but feel somewhat relieved.

It's crazy for me to be relieved in a situation like this. A human interface capable of killing me without second thought is coming towards me, and she is not happy at all.

Why am I relieved then?

I guess it's because I'm beginning to see Suzumiya-san as she once was again. I managed to prevent universal destruction for the time being. And I think I was this close to kissing her…

It's obvious at this point. My amnesia might have made me forget things, but there is no doubt that I have some sort of feelings for the eccentric girl holding me by the arm. Something about her has just drawn me in like fish that were being mercilessly caught in a large net. While that's not the nicest analogy, it certainly fits the description of how I ended up being attracted to Suzumiya-san.

I knew that I still had many lost memories, but the fact I could remember these feelings for Haruhi was actually making me happier, even though I was being faced with such a dire situation in front of me.

But enough of my thoughts, because they have no bearing on what's going on around me, so they become useless at a time like this.

"You ruined everything!" Ryoko shouted at us as she was now only a few feet away. Her blue hair seemed to always be caught by a breeze as she walked, even if it seemed like there was no breeze to catch it in the first place. How did she enter this closed space? I didn't even think that Nagato-san was capable of such a feat.

"What did you do, Kyon?" Suzumiya-san asked beside me, sounding more curious than scared. I was wondering why she wasn't afraid of the girl that was walking towards us, but then I realized that she had no idea what this girl was actually capable of. I mean, she's not really a girl at all.

"He's knows perfectly well what he did. Stupid humans. You all just get in the way!" Asakura-san commented in response to what Haruhi had asked me. I didn't really get much time to actually give Suzumiya-san an answer to her question, as the blue-haired human interface was standing right in front of us now. The expression her face was one of sadness, but something was telling me she was actually angry. I just assumed that as a human interface, she just didn't know what that expression looked like.

I looked to my side, where Haruhi was, to see that she had an expression that undoubtedly signified she was extremely curious about all this. Her eyes shimmered with the same usual aura that they gave out the impression that things were going her way.

But this wasn't certainly a situation to be happy about. I attempted to say something to Haruhi, but she spoke directly to Asakura-san before I could even utter a single syllable.

"Asakura-san? Is that really you?" Suzumiya-san asked the blue-haired interface, her voice more upbeat and exacerbated than usual. I sighed as usual. Was this really the time for such questions?

"I am not here to answer your questions, Suzumiya! Kyon has prevented what I've been trying to accomplish since my creation!" Asakura-san exclaimed in an annoyed tone, and she obviously wasn't going to be answering anything Haruhi planned on asking her.

You know, out of all the things Haruhi could have asked the girl, it had to involve her mysterious disappearance? I mean, come on! The girl who has dedicated her life to finding all manner of weird things can't come up with anything better? Asakura-san's practically begging for Haruhi to label her as an alien. Especially considering the way she's speaking towards Suzumiya-san.

I held in a sigh. Maybe I could reason with Ryoko somehow, and possibly prevent my own death. I have a feeling she's here to kill just me…

"You wanted to just see everything end so you could observe it in your last moments. I don't see what that will accomplish. There would be nothing left to observe when it's all just gone." I said to Asakura-san, and her expression managed to change faster than Haruhi's ever could. She looked sad one second, and then surprised the next. I hope what I said wasn't some sudden newsflash for her.

On another note, I'm taking a huge gamble saying all of these things with Suzumiya-san right beside me. Let's just hope that she just conveniently forgets it all.

"You still don't understand my true purpose, human. It's really sad, actually. If I had killed you, I was almost contemplating bringing your data back as a fellow interface. We need companionship like humans do from time to time."

I guess I would be lying if I wasn't kind of shocked by what Asakura-san just told me. It not only was alluding to many abnormal things, but it sounded like she was into me or something. It's almost amusing how I wouldn't have been so freaked out by this if she hadn't tried to kill me in the first place.

"You like Kyon?" Haruhi interjected, blinking her amber eyes in even more curiosity. I could feel her tightening her grip on my arm. It was almost beginning to hurt, as if she was cutting off circulation. I had the notion to ask Suzumiya-san to just let go of me, but I didn't end up saying anything. I had a feeling it wasn't a good idea right now to tell her something like that.

"No. He's a human that could have served a purpose."

Well, that's really nice of you to say about me! If I didn't know any better, it sounded like Asakura-san would have just used me for physical urges that she might have. It sounds kind of creepy, actually. It would be best not to think about it.

"If you want to think about in the human way, then I would have been the better choice, Kyon. It's not like Suzumiya-san has much more. She's not fit to be by your side, if I had an opinion about it. Humans are imperfect either way." Asakura-san added, with an almost prideful and vain tone in her voice.

This was the point where I think Ryoko should have just kept her mouth shut. She wasn't actually paying attention to the fact that Haruhi had let go of my arm at that exclamation, and that her fists were clenched tight.

Suzumiya-san did not give the slightest bit of hesitation as I watched her drive her fist right towards the unaware Ryoko's face. Haruhi obviously had no idea what Asakura-san actually was. She had no idea she was about to try and punch out an alien being that had control over the surrounding reality. It wasn't a good idea.

It's safe to say that I did not expect to see Haruhi's fist actually make contact with Ryoko's face. I heard what sounded like a brick hitting against rubber, and I saw Asakura-san get forced a few feet back from the impact. Suzumiya-san had her teeth gritted, and both her fists were clenched as if she was ready for battle.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!?" I asked Suzumiya-san in panic, running up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. Haruhi looked back at me with a glare, making me feel as if I was wrong for condemning her action.

But I certainly wasn't condemning it. I was worried about our well-being right now! I don't want to die yet!

"You physically damaged this temporary form, Suzumiya." Asakura-san said in a shocked tone, as she held her hands to cover her probably broken nose. I had seen what Suzumiya-san could physically do before, when she had punched Taniguchi, and I assumed this blow to Ryoko Asakura was no exception. But it was actually surprising to see that Suzumiya-san had actually done some damage to Ryoko. I had thrown a desk at her, and that didn't work at all! Either Suzumiya-san is really lucky, or this human interface is losing her touch.

"I'd watch your mouth, Asakura-san. Kyon is taken already, and that's what you'll keep getting if you try to steal him away from me!" Suzumiya-san exclaimed back to the surprised blue-haired alien. I watched Ryoko take her hands away from her nose, and I could see that she was bleeding a little from one nostril. I didn't know they gave human interfaces blood. But Nagato had bled when she let herself get impaled to protect me, so I shouldn't actually be surprised at this.

It's great how Haruhi seems to be claiming as some sort of trophy. I haven't really agreed to anything yet and already Suzumiya-san is making sure that she's got me all tied down to her. This is quite typical coming from her. But what's with the déjà vu again!?! It's really starting to piss me off!

"Steal him away…" Asakura-san said to herself in a low voice, her blue eyes blinking once as if she was processing new data in front of her. It took a few seconds for her to blink a second time, and she looked towards us both. A creepy smile was appearing on her face.

"That is the solution. I should have enacted it sooner. You must be eliminated, Kyon."

Those were certainly the exact words that I did not want to hear. I'm not trying to complain, but isn't always me that ends up suffering whenever something is so centered on Suzumiya-san?

What's the point of even asking? These things will happen whether they like it or not.

"I suggest we go now!" I whispered in Haruhi's ear, but it wasn't as discrete as I would have liked it to be.

"Why? There's nothing to be afraid of." Suzumiya-san replied to me, and she sounded extremely confident in her judgment.

I would have agreed with her if I had not seen what was happening in front of my eyes. Where Asakura-san had previously been, there was something very large instead. It was extremely large, actually, and it towered over the both of us. I pointed towards it, and whispered in Suzumiya-san's ear again.

"You need to really listen to me for once!"

There was a reason I said that to Suzumiya-san. And that reason was the huge creature that was now standing in front of us. It was a white crane of monstrous proportions, and if you ask me, it looked as if someone had taken a regular crane and gave it too much radiation.

This thing was truly massive, because its height equaled a few stories of some of the nearby buildings. It looked like it weighed a few tons, and the wings on its body looked more suitable for a dragon. The crane's beak looked viciously sharp, and it was already looking down towards us like we were the next little frogs it planned to munch on. I could only assume that this was Asakura-san, and she had drastically shifted her data to assume a form like this.

"Is that some sort of relative of the Kongamato?" Haruhi asked in what sounded like an exciting voice, while every fiber of my body was threatening to collapse from the fear I was currently experiencing.

I didn't think this time around. I just acted.

"Let's go!" I commanded to Suzumiya-san, while taking no time to just grab her by the hand and begin to drag her away from the beast in front of us. As we began to run down the street, I heard a rumbling sound behind us. It was loud enough that it sounded like a train was barreling towards us at full speed.

Upon turning, I could see that the crane was galloping towards us on its thick legs, its sharp beak open wide, and its eyes glaring directly at me. I guessed that if it tried to fly, it wouldn't be able to support its own weight, or it wouldn't be able to navigate through the surrounding buildings that would be in its way.

Truth be told, I knew that it was simply after just me, but I didn't have the will to just leave Haruhi behind. I was too afraid that it would hurt her if I did.

We ran as fast we could, or at least I did. Suzumiya-san was content with looking back and watching this enormous bird stomp through the gray city streets while chasing us. She looked as if this entire situation was some big sci-fi movie to be all excited about, and at the sight of this, yet another memory sparked in my mind. It was of the dream I had some months ago. The one where I had first kissed Suzumiya-san, even though it was supposedly a dream. The same expression from that dream when she had watched a blue giant proceed to destroy North High was on her face this very moment…

But I didn't think about that much longer. I kept running, turning a corner as I held onto Suzumiya-san's hand. If we could outrun this thing, then we might be able to find a way out of this closed space. If we could just…

No! I couldn't believe what I was seeing in front of me. After turning that corner, I was faced with a literal wall of concrete that seemed to tower up into the sky. There was no street to be seen, and I was already feeling nostalgia that Suzumiya-san and I would be trapped just as I had been when Asakura-san first attempted to murder me.

"This can't be happening…" I said to myself in panic, and Haruhi was standing there as if waiting for the gigantic bird to reach us. I looked from side to side, searching desperately for a way out of this. There was nothing but buildings that blocked any attempt to a street that we could escape on. The only way would have ended up with us running right into the giant bird. The concrete wall in front of us looked down emotionlessly like some cold monolith of doom.

"Wait here! I have an idea!" Suzumiya-san suddenly exclaimed to me, before I watched he run off in the same direction that I had assumed we should just avoid. She turned on the street corner, and I watched her approaching a construction vehicle that had a mechanical crane on it.

"What are you doing!?!" I shouted at her, obviously exasperated and worried for dear life. Suzumiya-san always has to do the craziest things at the worst times. She climbed like a spider monkey on the outside of the yellow construction vehicle, and I simply sighed in defeat when something large began to block my sight of her.

It was the titanic form of Asakura-san. She made no sounds in her monstrous shape as she approached me, save for the rumbling with each of her footsteps. I found myself backing up into the concrete wall sooner than I expected.

This creature was surely a frightening sight. It reminded me of one of those terror birds that they described in old science books. They were flightless carnivorous birds that stood taller than a man. But they were extinct.

Asakura-san was certainly not extinct, and I found my heart pumping faster than ever as I watched the huge crane's head come down and watch me at a human eye level. Each of the large orbs that were its eyes had the same blue that could be found in Ryoko's eyes.

Look, I truly think I had wet my pants at this point. There was something comparable to a tyrannosaurus rex staring me in the face, and it had all the intent to kill me. And I knew that there was no escape now.

I sighed as I closed my eyes. I could already feel the crane's hot breath as its mouth began to open in front of me. It would take one chomp to end my life. I hoped that Ryoko had enough decency to end my life quickly. But judging from the fact that Haruhi had punched her in the face, I really doubted it.

"Your Brigade Chief is here to rescue you, Kyon!"

I knew that only Suzumiya-san could say something like that, and I could not help but open my eyes upon hearing this. The mega crane in front of me was surprisingly slow in eating me, as it still was in the process of opening its mouth up fully. I ignored this discrepancy in its action, peering over to see where Haruhi's cry had come from.

Now I really couldn't believe what I was seeing. Some feet away, a massive bronze-colored steel girder was literally being piloted by none other than Haruhi. It was hanging on a wire from the mechanical crane she had been climbing on just before, and she held on it for dear life as it swung in the air. It was barreling straight towards the titanic bird that was taking its time in eating me.

If I had the time to laugh at Suzumiya-san's exclamation, and point out how ridiculous she was acting, I would have. But when I saw the girder about to make contact with the body of the monster bird in front of me, I realized just what Haruhi had been intending to do.

I ducked as the girder slammed right into the body of the shape-changed Asakura-san. The sound was loud as the creature was sent tumbling backwards from the impact. My mind was focused on not getting crushed, because the bird would have easily weighed a few tons. I was partially surprised that the monster crane had made no sound that signified it was probably in a lot of pain.

If there was time to point it out, I would have been astounded by the fact that Suzumiya-san was now standing next to me, brushing off her sailor uniform. How the hell did she manage to jump off the girder so easily? How athletic is this girl?

All questions aside, I was relived to see that the crane smash into a nearby building, causing the outer structure to collapse as the birds' huge body barreled into it with tremendous force. My arms instinctively went around Suzumiya-san in protection, mostly because I was afraid of her being hurt by any falling debris. There was none, and it was really a useless thing to do. Nevertheless, Haruhi didn't seem to mind so much.

After a few seconds, the dust had begun to settle. I let go of Suzumiya-san, who walked towards the collapsed building with genuine interest. I could not help but let out a massive sigh of relief.

"Where did it go?" Haruhi asked me, pointing towards the debris. When I looked, I could see that there was no huge body to be seen among the rubble. This sparked only worry in my mind, a worry that was made worse by the fact that I heard someone begin to speak behind me.

"Your attempts at stopping me are useless. But they've made me realize that there is a simpler solution than just killing your human companion." Asakura-san boldly stated from behind us, causing myself and Haruhi to almost turn in unison.

She looked like she had been through a vacuum cleaner. Dust and dirt was all over her uniform, and there was rips and tears in it as well. Taniguchi would have gotten a kick out of the way she looked right now. I was more worried about other things.

"What are you? Some sort of shape-shifter?" Suzumiya-san asked the human interface, stepping ahead of me before I could do anything to stop her. Crazy girl! She's going to just get herself killed!

"No. You are too ignorant, Suzumiya. You are not fit to be an instigator of data creation. I will do what is required. I will end you now." Ryoko replied, this time with the same smile she had shown to me after she complimented me for actually getting Suzumiya-san to talk to someone for once. My mind was racing at the sound of those words.

I watched as Asakura-san began to manipulate the steel girder that lay some feet away from her. As if she was an esper, she ripped a large sliver of it out without a single ounce of physical force. I watched her bring up before her. It was a floating deadly spear of junk metal.

My body acted before my mind could protest. I knew it was probably the stupidest thing I have ever done, but I did it anyway.

Suzumiya-san was behind me when Asakura-san launched the spear forward. It had been aimed at Haruhi, but something had come between it.

That something was my body. I felt an intense, burning pain in my lower stomach, and it didn't take long before I looked down to see that the metal spear had gone right through my lower abdomen, having nearly impaled me. Blood began to pool up where the wound was situated, and every part of my body was feeling weaker with each passing second.

I feebly looked back at Suzumiya-san, who was clearly in shock and fear at the sight o me. I tried to smile to her, but the pain had become too much, and I fell back.

While my mind spun faster than an electronic top, Haruhi caught me before I could land on the asphalt and possibly just further my already serious wound. I looked up at her face, which was already beginning to brim with tears. Her exuberant mood clearly had been severely ruined by this action.

"Kyon…" she whispered to me in a scared voice, her arms still holding onto me to prevent me from falling any further. I could feel her shaking in fear, and I looked to my side to see that Asakura-san was already raising another sliver of metal from the girder on the ground. She looked ready to finish the job.

Haruhi's attention changed quickly, and her eyes were flaring up in anger at the sight of Asakura-san. The human interface continued to smile as she let another spear of metal come in front of her, with all intent at launching it at Suzumiya-san this time around. Haruhi spoke quietly, her voice shaking with either fear, or absolute anger.

"You....you hurt Kyon!" she screamed at Asakura-san, and it seemed so loud that it caused the alien to lose her hold on the metal spear that was floating in front of her. It clattered onto the ground, apparently useless.

The look that I could see on Suzumiya-san's eyes was one of complete fiery hatred. Her face had twisted into such an angered and discontented expression that I thought it might just crack from the pressure. Haruhi's amber eyes were focused completely on Asakura-san, who seemed to be having trouble moving, as if gravity had increased on her.

My mind was going from the wound in my stomach, but I still stayed in consciousness, watching what was happening. Tiny sparks began to appear around Ryoko's form, and they glowed bright. Asakura-san looked scared, watching these sparks dance around her like a gathering fire.

There was a deafening noise that sounded like a thousand gongs being rung at once. Ryoko might have been screaming, but the sound probably prevented me or Haruhi from hearing it. Coruscating energy began to swirl around the blue-haired human interface like deadly snakes of light, and she struggled to break free of their slithery grips. After a few more seconds, I watched the brightly glowing energy completely envelop her, and then as if it had been sucked into a miniature black hole, it just disappeared in a brilliant flash.

Even with this wound on my stomach, I was still in disbelief. The human interface who had tried to murder us wasn't there anymore. There was absolutely no trace of Ryoko Asakura left at all. I sighed to myself, this time in relief. I have a feeling she was really gone this time around. Maybe I don't have to worry so much…

But the pain came back, and it was then I realized I was still severely injured. I looked up at Suzumiya-san, who had finally turned her attention back to me, her face showing more worry than I have ever seen her express. I really never believed she cared about me this much.

"Stay with me...."

Her voice was becoming distant. I could already see blackness coming over my eyes. The pain was becoming unbearable, even as I felt the spear in my body collapse on itself. Surprisingly, the metal spear felt like it sucked itself out of my body, but the wound had remained.

I closed my eyes, realizing that the end for me was near this time. Was I ready for something as drastic as death? I didn't know. But it was coming anyway.

"Kyon? Kyon!" Haruhi screamed at me in anguish, with enough loudness in her voice to burst my ear drums. But I could barely hear her at this point. Everything was speeding away from me fast.

Before I fell into the blackness, I had but one thought on my mind.

Whether or not the amnesia was actually suppressing it, I knew something now. I knew that I loved Haruhi Suzumiya. It wasn't a lie, and it certainly wasn't an illusion. It was true, and that fact was what warmed my heart just before I could feel it slowly beginning to stop beating.

I wish I had more time in this life. Is that so much to ask…

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**This is certainly not a good place to end. I wonder......nah. I would never end a story at a place like here. Next chapter will be in an estimated one or two days. This story is coming close to an end, and it was a blast to write. Already considering possiblities for another one...:)**


	13. Chapter 13

**And here's the second to last chapter! Hope you enjoyed this story so far. It is nearing it's end, unfortunately...**

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I find it amazing that your life really does flash before your eyes when you're at deaths door. It's almost intriguing, in a way.

I'm being serious when I say that! It might sound macabre and all, but I really did see a flash of everything that has ever happened in my life, just before it all went black. And when I say everything, I mean everything.

I saw Haruhi Suzumiya, from the first day I met her in North High, and when she made her infamous introduction to the class. I saw myself being dragged down a hallway, before being forced into extortion by Haruhi when she had asked me to assist her in creating a club. I saw myself going into the SOS Brigade clubroom for the first time.

I saw the massive, glowing blue giants, Koizumi and his esper abilities, Nagato-san trying to convey her status as an alien, Asakura-san attempting to kill me, and I saw myself listening to Mikuru-chan as she explained herself as a time traveler.

After that, everything seemed to remain more or less a big blur. I was able to make out some faint memories, like our stay at Keiichi-san's island, or the baseball game we played against the Kamighara Pirates, but most of my memories were blank and empty.

So death was coming to me now. I should sound more afraid. Actually, I should sound much more afraid. But truthfully, it's always been in my nature to converse such matters in the solitude of my thoughts. So I guess I can sound more reasonable to myself even though I'm actually scared at the fact that I'm about to die.

But truth be told, the only real fear that I find myself droning on the most is the fact that I may never see Haruhi Suzumiya again. I might never see her dazzling expression, her beautiful visage, or her clearly athletic body. I will never hear the words "SOS Brigade" come out her mouth, nor will I hear her go on about time travelers, espers and aliens. I won't see her forcibly changing Mikuru-chan, nor will I be given another order by her.

Could she truly survive without me? I don't know what actually goes on in Suzumiya-san's mind, but something tells me that she needs me at least a little more than she actually puts out.

And you know, there are some things I should probably admit to myself during this time of peace. For example, I now know that I clearly feel more for Suzumiya-san than I myself put out. I don't know if these feelings of infatuation are really genuine, but they certainly have become prominent enough in my mind to allow recognizing them.

If I could sigh, I would. There's nothing left for me except for a bleak afterlife now, if that even exists. All I can hear are my own thoughts, as everything is as pitch black as a moonless night, and all of my senses feel like they've been turned off and thrown away.

I feel like a vegetable that can think. I hope I don't have to stay in this state forever, because this is seriously becoming torture. Where's the light at the end of the tunnel? I want to get out of this boring blackness!

Ugh, I'm sounding like Haruhi. But I guess joking about all of this is the only way to cope with it. I'd like to see you try and take in the concept of death so easily.

So where is this death already? I've been thinking in this nothingness for the past few minutes. Well, it could be hours. Either way, this is taking forever!

What's that? A light? It's getting brighter. I can see it. It's coming closer.

Where's my body? I can see this light, but really nothing else. God, it's bright. It looks like the sun is speeding towards me. And it's almost here. Guess this is the end then. This is the time where I go wherever people go when they die. I wonder what it's like….

I'll be finding out soon enough. The light has finally reached me.

Wow, it really is bright. In fact, it's hurting my eyes a little. What's all this color? It's all gray and green. Is this what the afterlife is supposed to look like?

Wait, this isn't an afterlife. I'm somewhere else, and I don't think it's any sort of heaven. My eyelids are struggling to open, as if held shut by some sort of super glue. I can begin to feel the muscles in my body starting up, and tingling sensations are beginning to pop up all over my skin.

Finally, I am able to force open my eyes. I guess I'm not so dead after all. Unless the things I am seeing in front of me are part of either some big dream.

I didn't know exactly where I was at first, but by the fact I was in a spacious green and gray room, surrounded by medical equipment, and IV stuck in my arm, and breathing tube going right up into my nose, I could only begin to assume one thing.

I was in a hospital, and I was clearly in medical care. The patient robe I was wearing wasn't all that comfortable, and I felt like reaching to pull it off. But as I tried to do so, I felt my stomach begin to churn with an intense pain. I groaned slightly, looking down to see what the cause of this sudden discomfort was. Beside me, I could hear the steady beeping sound that was monitoring my heart rate. I was alive, it seems.

I noticed first that I had been heavily bandaged where my piercing wound was. Asakura-san had probably caused me more damage than I previously thought, and it was probably a wonder that I survived in the first place. Still, I was feeling a little confused, and my head was throbbing slightly. How exactly did I get here again?

"You shouldn't try to move, idiot. You're just going to worsen the injury."

I didn't have to turn to see who had said that. The voice was unmistakable to me, as it had been permanently etched in my brain from the first day I had heard it. I had heard it some time ago, but it still remained in my head like a prehistoric marking. Of all the voices of people that have ever been a part of my life, I swear to you that Haruhi Suzumiya's would remain the most recognizable out of all of them. Her tone, manner or speaking, and the general aura she radiates when she says most anything, are too unique to belong to anyone else.

I weakly turned to my side, and I could see that Haruhi was in fact next to me. She was sitting in a gray metal fold-up chair, the kind that Nagato-san usually sits in whenever she is reading her latest novel.

The face Suzumiya-san was wearing could be interpreted in many different ways. She was sitting in a somewhat relaxed position, but her face showed hints of worry, annoyance, and even anxiousness. When I had finally noticed her, she looked back at me with determined eyes that pierced the soul.

We looked at each other for a few moments, taking the time to gaze in the orbs of the other person. Haruhi's eyes were something one could easily get lost in, as they had an almost amber shine that could have been mistaken for the light of the sun. Suzumiya-san was staring back at me, and I wondered what she was thinking. I had a feeling she might be admiring something about me, but I couldn't put a finger on exactly what. Finally, the Brigade Chief angrily broke the silence between us, getting up from her chair as she spoke.

"You're such a moron, Kyon! You could have gotten yourself killed back there! Do you hear me? Killed! I should have left you there to just die for how stupid you acted!"

The way Suzumiya-san was shouting at me implied that she was probably feeling a mixture of rage and worry, but something was telling me that she was trying to express something else. She was certainly loud enough that she could have attracted the attention of any member of the hospital staff that was walking down the hallway nearby.

Now that I think about it, I wonder how the hell she managed to get me all this medical care without causing such a big fuss. Knowing Suzumiya-san, I should probably guess that she found a way to persuade even the paramedics to listen to her rant about the cause of my injury. I don't know how she managed to do it, and frankly, I don't think I want to know. I think I should just be glad that I'm alive right now. I looked back at Haruhi, who didn't change the angered expression on her face. Her delicate hands were clenched into tight fists, as if she was getting the urge to punch me in the face.

"I'm sorry." I said, with the most sincere voice I could muster.

"I didn't want to see you get hurt."

Haruhi's response wasn't what I expected. Her eyes began to well up tears, and I could see she was probably focusing on thinking of what she wanted to say to me next. What was there for her to say?

Even though I had initially forgotten about it, I began to feel the dreaded déjà vu beginning to return. The amnesia was still apparent, and many of my memories felt disjointed and incomplete. I would have sighed, but I was aching too much to do so.

"You're worried the hell out of me, you idiot! Don't you ever do something that stupid again, or I'm going to give you a penalty that'll last till the end of high school! Do you understand, Kyon?" Suzumiya-san shouted through her tears, and she took the time to get right up in my face. In fact, she had both of her hands gripping me by the shoulder, and she was staring into my eyes, her own amber orbs filled with the usual piercing glare.

It wasn't hard to tell that Haruhi was expressing caring and worry towards me, although it was in her own stubborn way. I couldn't help but feel sad as I looked at her face. She was trying her best to hold in the tears, but she just couldn't stop them from coming out.

I was waiting for her to just beginning sobbing in my arms already.

I didn't know I meant that much to her. In fact, I didn't know I meant that much to anyone. Damn, this is all feeling familiar again. I keep getting this feeling in my lower stomach every time I look at Haruhi. And no, it's not from the injury I've got there.

It's love, is what it is. There is no denying it or avoiding it. Somewhere in my psyche, I am in love with Haruhi Suzumiya. I'm in love with the very girl who has pushed me around, ordered me to do things like her personal soldier, and embarrassed me time and time again.

A girl who believes that espers, time travelers and aliens are waiting around ever corner. The same girl who is surrounded by one of each, and still is she completely ignorant of that very fact. This is Haruhi Suzumiya, the Brigade Chief and eccentric girl I've come to know.

"You actually give a damn about me. I'm touched. But I can't help but wonder….what is this all for? Why are you so worried?" I asked Suzumiya-san, who had been in the process of wiping away what was left of her tears.

She looked back at me, her eyes lighting up in surprise. It seemed like she was hesitating to answer my question. I was eager for a response, so I just spat out another question as quickly as the first.

"What is it? Am I too valuable as a member?"

I blinked, and I clearly could see that Suzumiya-san was now beginning to blush. Her skin began to turn a peach color, and a red tinge appeared soon after. Her arms were still on my shoulders, and our faces were still close. Haruhi's face was always something to admire. She was probably the most beautiful girl in North High. I should probably tell her that sometime.

Haruhi continued to remain silent, and I was beginning to become impatient.

"Spit it out!" I said in an impatient tone, and it's safe to say that what happened next completely caught me off guard.

Haruhi's hands had suddenly moved away from my shoulders, and they both latched onto my cheeks. I could feel myself blushing at her touch. Haruhi blinked again at me, her eyes gazing into mine, even though they looked unsure. She closed them a moment later, and moved her now relaxed face towards mine faster than I could register.

Our lips locked only a second later. It was like an assault on my mouth, as Suzumiya-san had forced her way to my lips. I could taste something familiar as she kissed me, and the feelings of déjà vu undoubtedly surfaced again.

I must admit that this was a moment that I could have asked for as a gift from the gods. Haruhi's kiss was truly something heavenly, and every passing second felt like another moment of liquid ecstasy. Her tenacity was clearly showing, as she was kissing me deeply. Her eyes remained closed as she held me by the cheeks, and I could feel my heart beating faster with each second that came and went. This was certainly something else entirely. It was real, and it didn't have blue giants destroying buildings in the background to ruin it.

After what seemed like an eternity, Haruhi pulled away. She was breathing heavily, as if she had recently run a marathon. Her kiss had been deep. And my mind was spinning because of it.

"Wow…" I said in an astonished voice. My brain was still trying to wrap itself around the fact that Suzumiya-san's kiss had been so perfect.

"You're important enough, Kyon. And you're not too bad of a kisser either." Suzumiya-san replied, sounding a bit more playful with the last part. I couldn't help but crack a smile, and I could already feel warmth returning to my body.

The aura Suzumiya-san radiated was something else….

Even still, the amnesia and déjà vu were continuing to plague me like a misbegotten virus. They were both eating away at my resolve, and I knew that it would simply drive me crazy sooner or later. I don't think it would take long for me to go mad from all this.

I looked back at Suzumiya-san, who still had the remnants of a blush on her face. Did she remember the whole thing with Asakura-san? My own memories were faint of the situation, to tell the truth. I can only guess she remembered some of it at least, as she was the one who got me to this hospital in the first place. What effect was this going to have on reality?

Damn this amnesia! Why can't I just make it everything the way it was again? No amnesia and Haruhi could just forge-

Wait a second! My mind began racing through possibilities. I had a sudden revelation.

I could convince her. If I made it subtle enough, I could convince Haruhi to turn things back to the way they were. I did it once, so I can do it again! I looked back at her, a content look on my face.

Haruhi gazed back at me, and I watched her begin to slowly lean forward. Before I knew it, she was resting her head against my chest. I could feel strands of her long brown hair tickle my nose. It felt like she was listening to my heart beat. This was certainly comforting.

"Listen, Haruhi…..don't you miss it all?" I began to say, although in a soft voice because of how close I was speaking into Suzumiya-san's ears. I felt her hair rustle a bit, and her hands were making themselves comfortable on my chest. She was using it as a pillow by this point, her voice slightly muffled as she responded to my question.

"Miss what?"

"The Brigade. Our usual mishaps. You know, everything the way it was. Stuff that doesn't involve me getting injured." I replied, and my eyes were beginning to feel slightly heavy. I do admit that I'm starting to feel a bit tired.

"Nothing's changed, Kyon. I don't get what you're talking about."

Damn. What do I have to do to get through to her? I can't give up on this yet yet. I will get the message to her, even if it's indirectly.

"Do you think tomorrow's going to turn out better? You think everything will be okay tomorrow?" I asked her sincerely, still reveling in the fact that she continued to rest her head on my chest. I had to admit that I was enjoying the warm aura she was exuding. If I didn't know better, it almost felt like that my stomach wound was already beginning to heal.

Haruhi brought her face up to look at me, blinking her amber eyes. Slowly but surely, a smile began to emerge on her face. She spoke sweetly, in a voice that I never thought she had.

"It will. It's going to be better. In fact, I think it's going to turn out great."

Wow. That voice completely knocked down anything that Asahina-san could come up with. That voice didn't sound like Haruhi at all. I let out another smile as I felt Suzumiya-san's head begin to rest on my chest again.

This wasn't so bad after all. I could feel myself yawn.

I guess I was wrong about Suzumiya-san. She's not as bad as I try and make her sound. Perhaps there really is more to her than meets the eye. Maybe I just need to spend some time trying to crack it out of her. Yeah, I should do that. Who knows how far I could get with Suzumiya-san.

I was about to say something else to her, until I heard the way she was breathing. I raised an eyebrow at she what I realized she was doing.

She was now asleep on my chest. Her posture had become relaxed and was leaning towards me, and her breathing came out in short calm intervals. She certainly was a sleeping beauty, if you ask me. I'm surprised she found my chest comfortable enough to sleep on.

I yawned once again, and I felt my eyes becoming very heavy this time around.

Well, there are surprisingly quite a few pluses to today. I didn't die today. I got another chance to live, Asakura-san is seemingly gone, and I even got to kiss Suzumiya-san at the end of it all. I never thought she actually felt that way about me. I never thought anyone did. Well, she didn't go all mushy on me, but that kiss she decided to give me said something.

I guess I need to toss away my reasonable side and all set rules I believe make up the world. There's no way to be reasonable in an unreasonable universe, or omniverse, if you want to get technical. Haruhi Suzumiya fully dictates what goes on in this world. It is under her jurisdiction to decide what happens next. If it was under mine, chances are it would all be normal and boring. Haruhi just makes everything exciting and crazy.

You know, even with all this amnesia, I'm getting a feeling that maybe I'll just get through it all.

As I began to drift into a peaceful sleep, I had but two things on my mind. I was smiling to myself about how lucky I was to be here with Suzumiya-san, and I was also thanking her as God for sparing my life. I could have grinned at this if I wasn't so tired.

And there we slept. Haruhi Suzumiya was resting her head on my chest, sleeping soundly, and I was probably snoring up a storm as I peacefully lay in the hospital bed.

As I was about to fall into the blackness of sleep, I silently thanked Haruhi one last time. This time around, I wasn't descending into a blackness of death, but the usual blackout that came with falling asleep. I guess I got lucky once again…

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**And the epilogue come next! As a note, I will say now that yet another story shall be written once this one finishes! I can come up with ideas forever, especially considering the amount of readers I have. So be excited for whatever will come next! When I figure out a plot, of course. :)**


	14. Epilogue

**Well, here comes the epilogue to this story, my willing readers. It sure has been one wild ride!**

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You know, I really hate it when I fall asleep and end up not having any recollection of my dreams when I manage to wake up. This happens to me quite a lot, and I can't help but be pissed when I can't remember the details of that fantastic dream I might have had involving Suzumiya-san.

Now these kinds of dreams are normal for teenagers to have, mind you. Wouldn't you be just as pissed if you couldn't remember something like that?

In fact, I've been having trouble remembering a lot of things these past few days. The cause is a sudden amnesia that coincidentally only started bugging me a few days ago. During the amount of time I actually could talk to Itsuki Koizumi without him forgetting something, I was told that it was because of the fact that Haruhi Suzumiya had lost her faith and belief that there were strange and bizarre things in the world.

It wasn't long until the thought-to-be-dead Ryoko Asakura, previously disguised as a crane approached me. She told me that the omniverse, which was the bigger picture beyond just the universe, was on the brink of ending due to the fact that Suzumiya-san was having trouble believing.

She thought that it would the greatest thing ever to watch everything end. She said that all the things she was doing would lead up to the most massive data explosion ever witnessed. She knew that the said data explosion meant the end of reality, but she didn't care.

I had risked my life to stop Asakura-san from killing Haruhi. I had almost been killed myself. Haruhi had somehow brought me to a nearby hospital, and I had survived my predicament and being nearly impaled with a piece of a steel girder through the stomach. Plus, Suzumiya-san had given me a kiss that I certainly did not expect.

My eyes opened with the speed of a slot machine. I had been thrust from a previously sleeping state.

Something was different. Something didn't feel the same. I looked up at the ceiling, realizing that I was in none other than my own bed. I was in my room once again, having awakened from what seemed like a very lifelike dream.

But before I could complain about these very real dreams, or groan at the fact that they always seemed to end at the best part, a stream of thoughts forcefully pushed themselves into my mind.

There are not many ways to describe what I experienced in those moments. If I had to describe it, I would use the words mystifying, dazzling and out of this world.

Every memory, thought and recent event that has ever transpired in my life, but was obviously covered by my recent amnesia, thrust themselves into my brain like icy spears. They surged in like some sort of rioting mob, and I could feel a massive headache coming on as every single one of these memories situated themselves in my thoughts.

As I sat up in my bed, I realized that there was no going over what had just come back to me. I knew everything that I needed to know. I looked. Realization hit me like a ton of bricks.

I can't believe it. I actually forgot that I was in love with Haruhi. I forgot the date we had gone on, and I had forgotten the events that transpired when we had both been trapped in that white void.

Man, my mind had been jumbled. Memories had left me like doves flying off into the distance. I had neglected so many events, and my brain refused to register them all. But why was I remembering that I had forgotten in the first place?

It doesn't take a moron to know that this is all rooted towards Suzumiya-san. Whatever she did, she managed to get me to remember everything that I had originally forgotten. The amnesia and the dreaded feelings of déjà vu were finally gone. That was a relief.

But as I got out of my bed, questions of all kinds began to pop up in my thoughts. Though I was now focused on the fact that everything my have returned to a semblance of normalcy, I still couldn't help but bring up certain points in my mental conversations.

Does this mean that Suzumiya-san is now aware of her power? Even though I was severely injured and losing consciousness at the moment, I had watched her use her powers as a God to literally make Asakura-san disappear in a flash of light.

Was this some sort of involuntary response that Suzumiya-san used when something in the world became too much of a bother to last any longer? When I manage to get to school, I could probably get some sort of explanation from either Nagato-san or Koizumi.

I knew that something inside me was longing to see the rest of the Brigade again.

More questions came into my head even as I found myself walking out the door. It's pretty intriguing to note how I didn't really want to see my sister so much. I have a feeling if I decided to try and talk to her, she would end up just clinging to me like a leech, and I'd be late. I'm not in the mood to be late right now…

I can't help but wonder how much Haruhi really remembers. If I got lucky, she might have just made herself forget about the entire situation with Asakura-san. What did Koizumi, Asahina-san and Nagato-san know? I assumed that they probably had some recollection of their amnesia experiences, as ironic as that sounds.

As I walked along my daily route to school, I found myself going at a quicker pace than usual. I guess the anticipation of having my questions answered was driving me forward.

The usual hike seemed like I hadn't done it in an eternity. Was I asleep for longer than just one night? Had Haruhi somehow affected time and space when she had decided to change everything? I obviously don't know. Let's hope that the clubroom's usual residents can explain all of this to me.

I'm a little surprised as I walk towards school. No sign of Taniguchi at all. Maybe Suzumiya-san decided to just remove him from the world as well? No. I don't think she's that evil or cruel. Still, it's nice not to hear his idiotic and annoying ramblings for once.

I arrived in class, early as always. The only person who I always notice above everyone else is Suzumiya-san, who still remains content with staring out the window until I arrive to sit in the seat in front of her.

I should tell her that I care more often. I should just make it clear to her. I don't know why, but I can't help but think that all these predicaments we had just been through were all somehow my fault.

I naturally sit in front of Haruhi, and not to my surprise, I immediately manage to catch her attention away from whatever is outside the window.

Something about her is calming me down. Maybe it's because I'm glad that I can remember being her boyfriend. Maybe because I can remember the many kisses that we've shared.

I don't know. Damn it! I don't care at this point!

Slowly but surely, my hand manages to wrap itself around Haruhi's. Fear begins to creep up on me, as if I'm waiting for Suzumiya-san to suddenly stand up and ask me what the hell I was doing.

But she didn't. Instead, she blinked back at me with her amber eyes, and I could feel the warmth of her delicate hand radiating back into mine. She had an almost indifferent expression when she decided to say something.

"You look wiped out, Kyon." She said to me, without much flavor or expression in her voice at all.

I'm tired? Look who's talking. She sounds like she didn't get any sleep at all. I wonder if it's the amnesia or something…

"I had a weird dream. I'm just a bit shaken from it." I replied, with the notion in my head that I could make Suzumiya-san believe that all the past events with Asakura-san were all just part of a dream, if she didn't already believe that.

"Speak for yourself! I bet my position as Brigade Chief that my dream was ten times weirder than yours."

I should have expected such a stubborn response from her. Still, it wasn't the angry and annoyed Haruhi that was speaking to me. It was the eccentric, optimistic and slightly bossy Haruhi. That was the kind of Suzumiya-san that I liked best.

"Sorry for undermining the credibility of your dream."

There was an awkward silence between us after I said that. I didn't know what Haruhi was thinking about, but I hoped that it didn't have anything to do with Ryoko. The last thing we all needed was for Haruhi to decide that Asakura-san was an actual alien. I don't know what the consequences of that would be, but something tells me that Koizumi would say that the outcome would not be good.

"What are you planning to do over the summer, Kyon?"

Haruhi spit that question out with her usual tenacity and impatience. If I didn't answer, I could only expect some sort of punishment. I find it strange that I'm able to call her my girlfriend, even though I've only said it to myself.

"I've got no idea, because summer is still some months away. I know I'm not going anywhere for vacation. I guess I'm not doing much of anything."

"Good! Because you're going to be dedicating yourself to the Brigade double the amount of time you already do. It's going to be back-breaking when we start going on more city searches this summer. I'm thinking we find more traces of strange beasts, and investigate more alien sightings and anything else that is out of the ordinary! The possibilities of the SOS Brigade gaining recognition in this city are endless! And we won't stop there! We're going to keep this up until the Brigade becomes a worldwide phenomenon. Imagine it, Kyon. My face on a billboard in ever country in the world! But we have to think of a better slogan for the Brigade. One that'll cater more to the international masses. Now let me see…"

It's better to just let Haruhi release her rants at times like this. At least I could be sure of one thing when she spoke like this. Whatever problem she was having with faith, it was definitely long gone. I couldn't help but sigh in relief as I continued to listen to Suzumiya-san. Class still had some time before it would start…

After having listened to Haruhi in the morning, I found that the rest of my day went relatively faster than usual. If I didn't know any better, I might have said that the situation with Ryoko Asakura didn't even happen at all. I don't think I really had anything to worry or complain about at the moment. Now that's a surprise.

Opening up the clubroom door, I couldn't help but revel in the sweet aroma of Asahina-san's tea. It drifted up into my nostrils like a sort of incense, and I felt empowered by it.

The clubroom was nearly full at this time after school. Koizumi's plastic smile was on his face as he sat in the middle table of the room, and Asahina-san was busy pouring her tea into the various cups she would serve to us. Nagato-san was reading another novel, and the only sound that came from her corner of the room was the occasional noise that signified she was turning a page.

"Yo." I said in greeting to the inhabitants of the clubroom, and it was at this time that I noticed Haruhi seemed to be almost conveniently absent. Nevertheless, I took my usual seat in front of Koizumi. Somehow, I was glad to see him.

"Another valiant effort in saving us all, Kyon. I would commend you as I have before."

I should have expected he would say something like that before I could even ask him about it. So this must mean that all three of these extra-ordinary people around me are clearly aware of the fact that they had forgotten their identities and turned into normal teenagers for a period of time.

"Valiant? I prefer the word lucky. Any idea where Haruhi went?" I responded to Koizumi, and I was not surprised to see the usual smile remain on his face.

"She mentioned that she needed to do something. She didn't tell us what."

"So I'm guessing you won't be able to explain much to me? Human interfaces are not necessarily your topic of choice, and you weren't even there to witness my near death." I asked, eager to hear the esper's response.

Koizumi smiled, and he directed his gaze towards the window as he spoke to me.

"You are correct on that notion. There isn't much for me to tell you, but I have a feeling Nagato-san might be able to disclose more information. What I can tell you, however, is that you managed to stop the end only seconds before it would come to pass. I have no idea how you managed to convince Suzumiya-san, but you certainly prevented a disastrous outcome."

I sat back in my chair, feeling a little confused. Koizumi didn't have much of an idea of any of this. Nagato-san most likely did. I shouldn't be surprised. She is a human interface herself, so she might be able to tell me something regarding the situation with Asakura-san. But she wasn't even there to witness it. I would have to explain it to her so she could decipher it. That involved me getting her attention away from her novel, of course.

"I made you a special batch today, Kyon-kun. You sound like you need rest from all the things you've been through…" Asahina-san said beside me, clad in her maid outfit as she sweetly served me a cup of her astounding tea. Like a thirsty child I greedily drank it up, taking very little time to actually enjoy the taste. The sensation of this hot liquid flowing down my throat was just too comfortable. It was nice not to have a big wound on my stomach anymore.

I turned towards Yuki after I had finished my cup of tea. Putting it down, I spoke directly to her, with questions in my mind that I hoped she would answer.

"So, Nagato-san….you wouldn't be able to tell me how I watched Ryoko Asakura disappear before my very eyes? I know you weren't present to see it, but Haruhi did something that just made her just vanish in a flash of light."

It took a few seconds before Yuki was able to shut her book and look up at me. Her eyes were like expressionless orbs that emanated a freezing aura. They contrasted very much with the determined look that was usually on Suzumiya-san's face.

"Total data eradication."

I didn't understand this aliens' answer immediately. It was made up of only three words, and I don't know why she would expect me to know something like that so quickly.

"Come again?"

"Total data eradication. It is the phenomenon that occurs when Suzumiya-san has grown discontented with some form of data that has a place in the world. Her emotions become unstable enough to cause her to completely wipe the said data from the face of the omniverse. It ceases to exist in any other universe, whether or not they constitute as a parallel universe to our own. The Integrated Data Entity has wanted an observation of this phenomenon for some time. It is unfortunate that cannot be so."

I thought on Nagato-san's answer for a moment. It wasn't all that clear, but I could get the breadth of it. Basically, Haruhi can wipe things from the face of reality if she gets pissed off enough. Being that she is God, I should expect nothing less.

This is yet another reason I probably shouldn't try to break up with Suzumiya-san. I don't think I want to be eradicated anytime soon.

I was slightly confused. Nagato-san had no comment on Ryoko having rebuilt herself in the first place? Was she really even aware of it that much? I had to ask her.

"Did you know that Asakura-san could just come back like that?"

Yuki blinked at me once, and it could have been interpreted that she might have been thinking of what she planned to say. She spoke monotone and autonomously as usual. I was actually beginning to miss that part of her when she had been turning human for a brief period of time.

"I hypothesized it might be possible. The odds were unfavorable, so it did not seem rational to dwell upon it. But I made multiple errors in my predictions. If you had not acted to stop her, then we would not be having this said conversation."

After saying that, Nagato-san went back to reading her book. In a way, I was assuming that she was trying to say thank you. I smile crept up on my face.

The door to clubroom flung open as none other than our Brigade Chief entered. Haruhi had the same award-winning, determined and excited expression on her face as she walked into the middle of the room, obviously prepping to announce something to the rest of the club. I wonder where she'd been this entire time.

"The club meeting is ending early today. Everyone except Kyon can go home. Consider this a well-earned break from performing your duties for the SOS Brigade!" she announced, her voice excited and brimming with passion.

What about me? I didn't deserve a break for saving her life? Damn it. She made herself forget it all. Damn it!

"Alright, Kyon. Let's get going!" Haruhi said to me, before grabbing me by the hand and already beginning to pull me towards the hallway. I managed to grab my bag and look back at the remaining members, who watched me get dragged out the door by Suzumiya-san.

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked as I was forcefully being pulled along. Suzumiya-san's grip was just as strong as always.

"There's a place where people say they've seen a lot of alien sightings. It's a huge grassy lot only a few blocks from here. We're going to be sitting there and watching to see if we spot any aliens. If we're lucky, we might end up having a close encounter!"

Is it me, or does this sound like Haruhi's idea of…

"You mean a date?" I said as we got to the entrance the school. The air was breezy and a bit chilly, but it was tolerable. I couldn't wait till it got warm again.

"Call it whatever you want. But we're going to find aliens one way or another!"

I couldn't help but smile as I continued to be tugged by Suzumiya-san.

Well, it seems like all is as it should be. Haruhi continues to remain mostly ignorant about the strange things that really go on around her. The dreaded plague of amnesia and déjà vu is finally gone.

This sounds like a happy ending in a fairy tale, but I know it hasn't ended yet. Sure, I'll admit to being happy, but I know that there is only more when it comes to Haruhi. There are only more crazy things that she has planned for us, and more insane ideas that she has running through her mind. I'm going to be spending this night stargazing with her, even though she wants to call it "alien watching."

Is this the girl I'm going to propose to? It might sound forced, but something tells me yes. This eccentric and beautiful girl might just be the one I end up spending the rest of my life with. I don't think I ever could have predicted myself being in this situation if I my life had depended on it. I can already see a chaotic future ahead of us. But something about it doesn't feel bad at all.

I guess some things just never change…

**_THE END_**

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**Well, that was one amazingly fun story to write! I really can't believe I actually got through it all without feeling a single ounce of "man, I really want this story to just be done so I don't have to write anymore." I can keep going with this stuff, everyone. I really can. As long as you're enjoying it, I can just go on and on. I'm just really suprised that I actually was able to not only write one story, but two!**

**I'd like to give another thanks to everyone who's taken the time ****to read and review this story. I wouldn't be writing without the support of my readers. I never actually thought I be good enough as a writer in the first place, let alone write so much about an anime/novel series.**

**Which brings me to my next point. While I am aware of the novels and know that I will read them, I'm going to have all these stories devaite straight from the anime. I know this leaves a lot of information from the novels out, but I kind of prefer just thinking it up on my own. I hope this doesn't sound to bad, but rest assured that I'll continue to write in the same style. And as the stories progress, I will be sure to constantly reference developments in the anime. And who knows? Maybe I'll do something with the novels in mind when I get to actually read past the second one. **

**This story will be continued in the next installment, "**_**The Revelations Of Haruhi Suzumiya**_**". Stay tuned, everyone. I'm not taking that much of break before I decide to start the next one. :)**


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